The 


By  C,  W»  G.  Hyde, 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SiATC  NORMAL  SCHOOL, 

IlOS  fi^GEiiES,  Cnit. 


The  Green  Valley  School 

A  Pedagogical  Story 


BY 

C.  W.  G.  HYDE 

Editor  of  School  Education 


MINNEAPOLIS 

North-Western  School  Supply  Co. 
1907 


.  IS>08 


Copyright,  1907 
By  C.  W.  G.  HYDE 


Education 
Library 

L 


- 


9 

To  the 


TEACHING  PROFESSION 
This  book  is  affectionately  inscribed 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     The   New   Principal I 

II.     The  School  Bully 8 

III.     The  County   Superintendent 22 

IV*.     Visitors'   Day    33 

V.     The  Stone  Quarry 52 

VI.     A   Modern    Inquisition 62 

VII.     A  Case  of  Discipline 75 

VIII.     A  School  Romance cjo 

IX.     Edmund    Burke    <)/ 

X.     James  Learns  a  Valuable  Lesson 106 

XI.     Heavitree 113 

XII.     The  River  Belle  125 

XIII.  Self  Government    141 

XIV.  Awakening  a  Sluggard 146 

XV.     Euclid  by  Moonlight 154 

XVI.  The  Fugitive  165 

XVII.  The  Outcome   175 


C.   W.   G.    HYDE 


PREFACE 

The  principal  of  the  Green  Valley  School  is  still 
living.  He  has  had  a  long  and  varied  experience 
as  teacher  and  has  often  been  heard  to  say  that  if 
lie  were  to  begin  a  second  life  on  earth,  he  would,  in 
view  of  that  experience,  choose  the  schoolroom  as  a 
field  in  which  to  do  service  to  humanity  and  win 
that  satisfaction  which  is  the  reward  of  a  congenial 
task  well  done. 

The  Green  Valley  School  (names  are  of  course 
changed)  is  the  one  school  of  all  in  which  he  has 
labored,  whose  memories  are  sweetest  to  him.  One 
of  his  greatest  pleasures  is  in  the  occasional  tidings 
that  come  to  him  from  his  former  pupils.  It  is  still 
his  privilege  to  meet  some  of  them  face  to  face. 


Allie  Harley  has  been  something  of  a  traveler. 
Eva  Black's  principal  work  is  now  in  the  champion- 
ship of  the  woman's  suffrage  movement.  A  recent 
letter  from  her  contains  the  following  passages : 

"What  a  flood  of  pleasant  memories  your  letter 
evoked  and  how  the  tears  spring  to  the  once  'mis- 
chievous eyes'  as  I  think  of  the  dear  old  days.  *  *  * 
1  low  delighted  I  was  when  you  would  come  to  my 
seat  and  sit  beside  me  a  little  while  now  and  then. 
'f  It  does,  indeed,  seem  strange  to  think  of  Calvin 
Green  (a  son  of  Squire  Green,  a  member  of  the  school 
ijcr.rd  interviewed  by  Dr.  Wakely  in  Chapter  X)  as 
justice  of  the  supreme  court ;  Judge  Boyd  of  the  su- 
preir.e  c.-urt  of  -  -  said  to  me  that  Judge  Green 

viiies  the  smoothest  decisions  of  any  judge  of  his 
acquaintance.  *  *  : 

The  picture  of  Mr.  Harkins,  county  superinten- 
dent of  schools  in  Anita  county,  is  based  on  memories 
which  linger  in  the  mind  of  Rutledge  Stockley.  The 
old  gentleman  grew  more  pedantic  and  lost  none  of 
his  geniality  as  the  weight  of  years  accumulated.  He 
lived  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

Mr.  Stockley  makes  an  occasional  visit  to  Green 
Valley  and  it  has  been  a  rare  pleasure  to  him,  five — 
ten — twenty  years  after  the  cessation  of  his  work  in 
the  Green  Valley  School,  to  drop  into  Dan  Lorin^'s 
grocery  store  and  talk  with  his  old  friend  about  the 
days  and  the  people  of  long  ago.  Poor  Dan!  he  no 
longer  dispenses  sugar  and  sunny  smiles  over  the 
grocery  counter.  He  has  gone  "the  way  of  all  flesh" 
and  his  son — Stockley's  old  pupil — succeeds  him. 

"The  Green  "Valley  School"  is  the  true  record  of 
a  real  school.  Its  purpose  will  be  accomplished  if 
they  who  read  it  derive  as  much  pleasure  from  its 
perusal  as  the  author  has  experienced  in  committing 
the  principal's  narrative  to  paper  and  if,  in  addition 
to  this,  they  are  able  to  catch  and  utilize  the  spirit 
which  animated  Rutledge  Stockley  and  rendered  his 
administration  of  the  Green  Vallev  School  a  success. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  NEW  PRINCIPAL 

*        *        *        e'en  as  just  a  man 
As  e'er  my  conversation  coped  withal. — 

— Shakespeare. 

Two  men  were  climbing  the  plank  sidewalk  that 
led  from  the  main  street  of  Green  Valley  to  the  white 
school  house  on  the  hill.  One  was  thirty-six  to  forty 
years  of  age,  rather  richly  dressed,  whose  clear  eye  and 
handsome  face  emphasized  the  aristocratic  bearing 
which  was  evident  in  his  voice  and  movements.  The 
other,  who  was  fifteen  to  twenty  years  younger,  was 
slight  and  pale.  He  listened  with  deference  to  the 
earnest  words  addressed  to  him  by  his  elder  compan- 
ion as  they  walked  briskly  up  the  hill. 

"Mr.  Stockley,"  said  the  elder  man,"  our  corres- 
pondence has  given  me  a  very  favorable  impression  of 
you,  and  I  believe  you  are  going  to  succeed." 

"I  shall  do  my  best,  Mr.  Dow,"  replied  Mr.  Stock- 
ley,  "  and  with  the  support  you  have  promised  me  on 
the  part  of  the  board,  I  hardly  see  how  I  can  fail  if  I 


2  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

show  ordinary  tact  and  ability." 

"You  can  count  on  help  from  me  in  any  reasonable 
measure,"  returned  Mr.  Dow,  "  but  you'll  find  some 
rough  boys  and  some  troublesome  girls.  The  two 
Blazer  boys  are  roughs;  Eva  Black  and  Allie  Harley 
will  have  all  the  fun  they  can  with  the  new  teacher  and 
Jim  Wakeley  will  do  whatever  a  sneak  can  do,  to  toss 
thorns  into  your  path.  But  on  the  whole,  you'll  find 
the  scholars  well-disposed.  Drop  in  and  see  me  this 
evening,  and  we  will  talk  things  over." 

Rutledge  Stockley,  the  new  teacher  of  the  Green 
Valley  School  was  a  native  of  central  New  York  who 
had  migrated  to  Minnesota  for  mixed  hygienic  and  com- 
mercial reasons.  At  the  end  of  six  months  he  took 
account  of  stock.  There  were  but  few  dollars  in  his 
purse;  he  had  not  found  a  desirable  business  opening 
in  St.  Paul;  and  a  severe  bilious  attack  had  reduced 
his  flesh  and  strength. 

At  the  suggestion  of  a  friend  he  wrote  to  H.  L. 
Dow,  director  of  the  Green  Valley  two-department 
school,  applying  for  the  principalship.  Impressed  with 
the  manly  tone  of  Stockley 's  letter  and  with  the  evident 
intelligence  and  refinement  of  the  writer,Mr.  Dow  wired 
him  to  take  the  next  train  for  Green  Valley.  This  he 
did,  arriving  on  the  first  day  of  the  term  at  10  a.  m., — 
an  hour  after  the  usual  time  for  opening  the  school. 

Although  in  his  conversation  with  Mr.  Stockley, 
Mr.  Dow  expressed  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
former  to  conduct  the  school  with  success,  he  had 
some  secret  misgivings,  for  the  would-be  pedagogue 
was  very  pale  and  very  gaunt  (he  was  just  rallying 
from  the  effects  of  his  illness),  and  he  was  entirely  des- 
titute of  experience  as  a  teacher.  For  similar  reasons 


THE  NEW  PRINCIPAL  3 

Stockley  shrank  from  the  ordeal  of  making  his  first  ap- 
pearance as  the  master  of  forty  lusty  western  boys  and 
girls,  but  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  well-founded  be- 
lief in  his  own  ability  and  honesty  and  it  was  therefore 
with  a  courageous  heart  that  he  followed  the  director 
into  the  school  room  and  encountered  the  eighty  eyes 
that  were  instantly  focused  upon  him. 

The  pupils,  knowing  that  the  new  teacher  was  ex- 
pected on  the  10  a.  m.  train,  had  been  on  the  watch, 
and  on  catching  sight  of  Mr.  Dow  and  a  slim  stranger, 
had  rushed  into  the  room  and  scrambled  for  their 
seats. 

"Scholars,"  said  Mr.  Dow,  from  behind  the  teacher's 
desk,  "this  is  Mr.  Stockley,  your  teacher  for  this  fall 
and  winter.  He  will  give  you  a  good  school  if  you  will 
do  your  part.  I  expect  you  all  to  study  hard  and  behave 
like  ladies  and  gentlemen.  If  any  of  you  make  trouble, 
you  will  find  Mr.  Stockley  perfectly  competent  to 
straighten  you  out,  and  I  want  yon  to  understand  right 
here  that  he  will  be  backed  up  in  such  a  case  by  the 
board  of  trustees." 

During  the  delivery  of  this  speech,  the  new  teacher 
was  quietly  surveying  the  room.  He  did  not  make  the 
survey  with  the  deliberate  purpose  to  judge  of  the 
character  of  the  school — in  fact,  he  was  not  conscious 
of  attempting  any  estimate  of  the  pupils,  individually 
or  collectively.  Nevertheless,  a  subconscious  soliloquy 
was  taking  place  in  his  mind :  "Rather  a  rough  looking 
group  of  boys  over  there  in  the  back  left-hand  corner; 
these  two  bright  young  ladies  with  saucy  eyes,  near 
the  front, — wonder  if  they  are  Eva  Black  and  Allie 
Harley ;  that  red-haired  brute  in  the  rear  center  is  prob- 


4  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

ably  one  of  the  Blazer  boys — big  and  ugly  enough  to 
throw  me  out." 

By  the  time  the  director's  remarks  to  the  school 
were  finished,  the  little  heart  flutter  with  which  the 
teacher  had  entered  the  door  had  quite  subsided,  and 
a  feeling  of  quiet  confidence  took  possession  of  him. 
This  feeling  was  strengthened  by  M"r.  Dow's  leave-tak- 
ing. Facing  the  teacher,  the  director  heartily  shook  his 
hand,  saying: 

"Mr.  Stockley,  you  are  the  master  in  this  room.  If 
any  pupil  ever  has  any  doubt  on  that  point — though  I 
don't  expect  the  doubt  to  arise — the  board  will  prompt- 
ly set  his  misunderstanding  at  rest.  Good  day." 

A  moment  later,  the  door  had  closed  behind  the 
school  officer  and  Stockley  was  alone  with  his  school. 
For  nearly  five  seconds  he  was  at  sea  without  a  rudder. 
He  had  not  thought  to  plan  beforehand  what  should 
be  the  first,  the  second,  and  the  third  thing  to  do  in  the 
first  hour  of  school. 

Life  insurance  companies  have  a  fund  which  accu- 
mulates from  year  to  year  to  secure  the  payment  of 
its  policies.  It  is  called  a  reserve.  Every  wise  person, 
young  or  old,  accumulates  from  his  reading,  his  study, 
and  his  experiences,  a  reserve  upon  which  he  may  draw 
in  time  of  need.  Stockley  had  such  a  reserve  of 

knowledge,  ability,  and  what  the  French  call  savovr 
faire.  It  is  something  any  person  of  ordinary  ability 

and  small  opportunity  may  have  by  taking  the  neces- 
sary means  for  acquiring  it.  Stockley's  reserve  helped 
him  out  of  his  dilemma. 

He  seemed  to  know  instinctively  that  he  must  be- 


THE  NEW  PRINCIPAL  5 

gin  to  act  and  that  he  must  be  the  leader  from  the 
very  start.  He  remembered  that  at  the  district  school 
in  old  Peterville  the  first  thing  a  new  teacher  "did  was 
to  "take  the  names." 

"Begin  talking,"  said  something  from  the  reserve, 
and  accordingly  he  began  talking. 

"Scholars,"  he  said,  "we  must  try  to  get  acquaint- 
ed." 

While  saying  this,  he  opened  a  drawer  in  the  desk 
in  search  of  writing  paper.  Finding  none,  he  asked, 
"Have  any  of  you  some  writing  paper?" 

Eva  Black  hastened  to  produce  a  tablet,  which  she 
handed  to  the  teacher. 

"Thank  you,"  said  he. 

He  then  folded  several  sheets  and  tore  them  into 
oblongs.  Passing  along  the  aisles,  he  laid  one  of  these 
on  each  desk,  talking  as  he  did  so : 

"Mr.  Dow  has  already  told  you  my  name.  Perhaps 
you  did  not  all  understand  it.  It  is  Mr.  Stockley.  Now, 
in  order  that  we  may  be  on  equal  terms,  I  must  know 
your  names.  I  shall  have  to  record  your  names  and 
your  ages  on  a  register,  and  so  I  will  ask  each  of  you 
to  write  on  the  paper  I  place  before  you  your  full  name, 
writing  in  full  the  given  name  by  which  you  are  gen- 
erally known." 

Continuing  in  a  similar  manner,  he  managed  to 
keep  up  a  flow  of  words  until  the  names  had  been  writ- 
ten and  collected.  He  took  up  the  papers  himself,  look- 
ing at  each  pupil's  face  as  he  did  so,  in  order  to  asso- 
ciate the  names  with  the  faces. 

The  first  half  hour  was  thus  successfully  passed; 
the  ice  was  broken;  a  favorable  impression  had  been 


6  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

made  on  the  pupils;  and  both  they  and  their  teacher 
felt  at  their  ease. 

The  rest  of  the  forenoon's  work  was  easy.  The 
teacher  learned  by  inquiry  how  the  classes  had  been 
organized  the  preceding  year  and  thus  had  a  basis  on 
which  to  organize  them  for  the  fall  term. 

By  noon  the  school  was  in  running  order,  and  a 
program  was  arranged  which  was  followed  with  little 
deviation  in  the  afternoon.  Stockley  found  that  the 
Excelsior  Hotel  would  give  him  fair  board  at  a  rea- 
sonable rate  and  to  that_ hostelry  his  trunk  was  taken. 

Stockley  congratulated  himself  on  finishing  the  first 
day  without  serious  friction.  Two  or  three  times  when 
his  eye  had  casually  fallen  on  Arthur  Blazer's  freckled 
face,  he  had  caught  a  stealthy  wink  and  a  malevolent 
smile  directed  across  the  room  to  James  Wakely.  Both 
boys,  while  exchanging  significant  looks,  were  furtive- 
ly watching  the  teacher,  and  when  his  glance  fell  upon 
them  they  had  hurriedly  bent  their  eyes  upon  their 
books. 

It  was  not  in  Rutledge  Stockley's  nature  to  borrow 
trouble  and  he  gave  little  thought  to  what  he  had 
seen,  yet  a  vague  feeling  of  uneasiness  stole  over  him 
when  his  mind  reverted  to  the  evil  looks  of  the  two 
boys,  one  of  whom  had  been  pointed  out  to  him  by 
Mr.  Dow  as  a  rough  and  the  other  as  a  sneak. 

That  evening  he  called  at  Mr.  Dow's  house  as  he 
had  been  invited  to  do.  Mr.  Dow  gave  him  additional 
information  relating  to  conditions  in  the  school  and 
in  the  community,  which  he  afterward  found  useful 
to  him.  He  did  not  mention  to  the  director  his  appre- 
hension of  trouble  from  Arthur  and  James,  as  it  was 


THE  NEW  PRINCIPAL  7 

not  sufficiently  defined  in  his  own  mind  to  warrant 
serious  attention.  While  the  two  men  were  conferring 
in  the  library,  Mrs.  Dow  entered  the  room,  ostensibly 
to  find  a  book, — in  reality  to  inspect  the  new  teacher. 

"Mrs.  Dow."  said  her  husband,  "this  is  Mr.  Stock- 
ley,  our  new  principal." 

"Very  glad  to  meet  you,"  said  Stockley,  rising. 

Mrs.  Dow  bowed  slightly,  and  smiled  as  she  ut- 
tered some  conventional  phrase. 

Mrs.  Dow  was  a  handsome  woman  in  form  and 
face.  She  was  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  was  be- 
comingly and  rather  expensively  dressed,  and  had  the 
air  of  one  who  aspired  to  social  leadership.  It  can 
hardly  be  said  that  she  gave  Stockley  a  cordial  greet- 
ing, but  there  was  evident  in  her  manner  a  desire  to 
impress  him  favorably. 

Stockley  was  not  a  character  reader,  but  in  the 
five  minutes  of  Mrs.  Dow's  stay  in  the  library,  his 
intellect,  independently  of  his  consciousness,  formed 
an  estimate  of  her  character  which,  though  not  clearly 
defined,  was  true,  as  proved  by  subsequent  develop- 
ments. 

She  did  not  wear  her  heart  upon  her  sleeve ;  it  ap- 
peared, in  spite  of  her,  in  her  face.  Her  smile  was 
not  cold — she  meant  it  to  be  warm;  it  was  not  mali- 
cious— she  tried  to  make  it  gracious ;  there  was  a  flit- 
ting, lurking,  covert  spirit  of  evil  in  it  which  is  best 
described  by  the  word  sinister. 

After  a  few  commonplaces  regarding  the  weather, 
the  school,  the  community,  and  Mr.  Stockley's  ante- 
cedents, she  withdrew,  and  Stockley  soon  after  bade 
Mr.  Dow  good  night. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   SCHOOL  BULLY 

Behold  on  wrong 
Swift  vengeance  waits;  and  art  subdues  the  strong! 

— Pope. 

When  school  was  dismissed  at  noon  on  the  first 
day,  the  pupils  were  hungry  and  they  hastened  home 
for  their  dinners  without  lingering  to  discuss  the  new 
teacher.  When  closing  time  arrived  in  the  afternoon, 
everyone  had  an  opinion  of  him.  At  least  half  of  the 
children  left  the  school  grounds  singly  or  in  groups,  in 
animated  chatter  about  their  play,  their  studies,  and  the 
various  things  that  interest  boys  and  girls.  When  James 
Wakely  stepped  out  of  the  front  door,  he  found  Ar- 
thur Blazer  waiting  for  him  at  the  corner  of  the  build- 
ing. With  a  rearward  twist  of  the  head,  the  latter 
signaled  that  he  wanted  James's  company.  The  two 
strolled  together  across  a  field,  away  from  the  other 
pupils. 

"Say,  Jim,"  said  Arthur,  in  a  low  tone,  "how  d'ye 
like  bein'  bossed  by  a  blasted  dude?"  These  were  not 
Arthur's  exact  words.  Should  he  read  this  record,  we 
trust  he  will  be  disposed  to  think  leniently  of  the  lib- 
erty we  take  in  euphemizing  his  language  in  order  to 
adapt  it  to  the  taste  of  the  "gentle  reader." 

"I  don't  like  it  a  little  bit,"  was  the  reply,  "but 
what's  a  fellow  to  do?  Old  Dow  said  we'd  all  have 
to  toe  the  mark." 

"Toe  the  blazes!"  exclaimed  Arthur,  "if  ye  have 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  9 

the  spunk  of  a  sick  rabbit  ye'll  stand  up  for  yer  rights.*' 

"I'm  not  afraid  of  him,"  said  James,  "but  I  won't 
be  a  monkey  to  pull  your  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire; 
I'm  not  afraid  to  do  anything1  you've  got  nerve  to  do." 

"Not  afraid,  eh?  Well,  what're  ye  proposin'  to 
do?  Didn't  ye  say  ye  wasn't  goin'  to  study  g'ogerphy 
no  more  ?  And  now  this  bloomin'  high  stepper's  goin' 
to  put  ye  into  'nother  g'ogerphy  class." 

"Not  if  the  court  knows  herself!  Say,  Art.,  if  you'll 
stand  by  me,  I  won't  go  into  that  geography  class 
tomorrow.  Let's  both  refuse  to  go  to  recitation.  He's 
a  poor,  puny  fellow  and  if  we  stand  right  up  to  him 
he'll  be  as  limp  as  a  dish  rag." 

This  was  the  proposal  that  Arthur  had  tried  to 
draw  James  on  to  make.  Arthur  was  the  school  bully, 
and  he  was  ambitious  to  be  regarded  as  a  hero.  If  he 
could  bluff  the  master,  well  and  good.  If  the  master 
should  attack  him,  he  would  have  an  excuse  for  re- 
sistance and  he  resolved,  in  that  case,  to  win  the  ad- 
miration of  the  school  by  throwing  the  dudish  princi- 
pal out  of  the  door  or  the  window  as  should  be  found 
the  more  convenient. 

Before  the  boys  parted  thej  had  entered  into  a 
compact  to  refuse  point-blank  If  Mr.  Stockley  should 
insist  upon  their  entering  the  geography  class  next 
day. 

Stockley  arrived  at  the  schoolhouse  next  morning 
half  an  hour  before  nine.  He  carried  the  key  of  the 
front  door,  which  opened  into  his  part  of  the  build- 
ing,— the  "grammar  school  department."  The  rear 
room,  which  was  occupied  by  the  "primary  depart- 
ment," had  an  outside  door  on  the  side  of  the  build- 
ing. There  was  also  a  door  opening  from  Stockley's 


IO  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

room  directly  into  that  of  Miss  Dix,  the  primary  teach- 
er. At  about  quarter  before  nine  he  saw  a  lady  whom 
he  supposed  to  be  Miss  Dix,  pass  his  windows  and 
enter  her  room.  He  had  not  met  the  primary  teacher, 
for  Mr.  Dow  had  given  him  to  understand  that  altho 
he  was  nominally  principal,  the  primary  department 
was  under  the  exclusive  management  of  Miss  Dix. 
However,  he  made  a  brief  call  upon  her,  because,  as  he 
told  her,  such  near  neighbors  ought  not  to  be  entire 
strangers. 

The  method  of  "calling  school"  and  "calling  the 
roll"  may  seem  an  insignificant  matter  and  hardly 
worthy  of  being  dignified  by  detailed  description  in 
the  history  of  the  Green  Valley  School.  Not  so  did  it 
seem  to  Rutledge  Stockley.  He  had  done  much  care- 
ful thinking  during  his  waking  hours  since  the  close 
of  school  the  day  before.  He  had  already  become  in- 
terested in  his  work  and  a  personal  friendship  for  his 
pupils  had  begun  to  germinate  in  his  heart  or  mind  or 
soul — the  psychological  reader  may  decide  which. 

In  his  utter  lack  of  normal  school  training  and  ex- 
perience as  a  teacher,  he  was  compelled  to  draw  upon 
his  common  sense  and  that  reserve  to  which  reference 
has  already  been  made.  He  saw  that  he  must  not 
again  commit  the  error  of  going  to  his  work  without 
a  definite  plan,  which  might  be  made  to  bend  accord- 
ing to  circumstances.  In  the  quiet  of  his  room  at  the 
hotel,  he  forecast  the  necessary,  the  probable,  and  the 
possible  events  of  the  day,  and  adopted  a  flexible — tho 
not  indefinite — plan  for  dealing  with  them.  The  first 
four  things  on  his  plan  were  to  arrive  at  the  school- 
house  at  half  past  eight,  to  call  on  Miss  Dix,  to  "call 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  II 

school,"  and  to  call  the  roll.  He  regarded  nothing  too 
trifling  for  serious  consideration  that  had  a  bearing  on 
the  moral  and  mental  development  of  his  pupils.  He 
therefore  planned  just  how  he  woui'd  "call  school," 
and  how  he  would  call  the  roll. 

He  had  set  his  watch  at  exactly  the  right  time  by 
the  regulator  in  the  jewelry  store.  At  precisely  two 
minutes  before  nine,  he  went  to  the  front  door  and  rang 
a  small  hand  bell  he  had  found  in  a  dusty  closet. 
Some  of  the  pupils  started  at  once  for  the  door ;  oth- 
ers lingered  to  finish  a  game  of  ball  or  pull-away ;  and 
a  few  appeared  indifferent  to  the  call. 

With  a  crayon  in  hand,  the  teacher  took  place  at 
the  front  blackboard,  near  the  door.  At  exactly  nine, 
he  gave  a  single  tap  with  the  bell  and  said : 

"You  may  call  in  succession  the  numbers  given  you 
yesterday,  beginning  with  number  one.  I  will  place 
on  the  board  any  numbers  that  are  not  called." 

There  was  dead  silence.  "One,"  said  the  teacher, 
as  he  placed  the  figure  I  on  the  blackboard.  "One!" 
shouted  Tommy  Ahlse,  who  through  bashfulness  and 
uncertainty  had  failed  to  call  his  number  at  the  right 
time.  There  was  a  suppressed  titter. 

The  teacher  did  not  frown, — he  smiled.  He  knew 
that  Tommy  was  present.  He  might  have  said,  "Be- 
gin, Tommy,"  but  to  do  that  would  have  established 
a  troublesome  precedent.  He  saw  here  an  opportunity 
to  teach  Tommy  and  the  school  a  lesson  of  promptness 
by  training  him  to  begin  at  the  conventional  signal, 
which  was  the  tap  of  the  bell. 

The  roll-call  proceeded:  "two,"  "three,"  "four." 
''Five,"  said  the  teacher,  placing  the  figure  on  the 
board.  When  Jessie  Nutting  was  calling  ''twenty- 


12  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

nine,"  her  voice  was  drowned — or  rather  sand-bagged 
— by  a  bellowing  "FIVE"  from  the  rear-center  of  the 
room.  Arthur  Blazer  had  purposely  delayed  his  num- 
ber "just  for  fun,"  and  he  now  shot  it  at  the  teacher 
to  brace  himself  for  the  part  he  had  promised  to  play 
later  in  the  day.  A  loud  guffaw  from  James  Wakeley 
and  two  other  boys  greeted  Arthur's  sally.  All  eyes 
were  turned  on  the  teacher  to  see  how  he  would  take 
it.  He  said  nothing,  but  placed  an  oblique  cross  beside 
the  figure  5  on  the  board,  and  the  roll  call  proceeded. 
Arthur  and  James  were  disappointed.  When  the  last 
number  had  been  called,  Stockley  turned  to  address 
the  school. 

One  of  the  girls  had  her  hand  rained. 

"What  is  it,  Susie?" 

"I  called  my  number." 

"What  is  your  number?" 

"Number  twenty-three." 

Stockley  placed  a  cross  by  that  number. 

"Thirty-two,"  piped  another  girl. 

The  cross  was  properly  placed. 

"Is  there  any  other  pupil  who  was  present  at  the  be- 
ginning of  roll  call,"  asked  Stockley,  "whose  number  Is 
in  this  column  without  a  cross  beside  it?" 

There  was  no  response.  A  few  belated  ones  had 
entered  the  room  during  roll  call. 

"Now  scholars,"  said  Stockley,  "I  want  to  have  a 
little  family  talk  with  you,  for  I  hope  that  by  Christ- 
mas or  before,  I  shall  have  for  you,  and  you  for  me, 
very  much  such  a  feeling  as  members  of  a  good  family 
have  for  one  another.  I  wish  to  believe  that  all  of  you 
are  here  because  you  want  me  to  help  you  to  become 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  1$ 

intelligent  and  noble  young  men  and  women.  In  the 
first  place,  we  must  be  patient  with  each  other.  I  ask 
you  to  be  patient  with  me,  for  I  shall  make  mistakes ; 
but  I  shall  wish  all  the  time  to  do  what  is  right  by  you. 
I  want  to  be  patient  with  you  and  to  believe  that  if  any- 
thing you  do  appears  mean  or  vicious,  it  is  only  a 
mistake,  which  you  will  correct  when  it  is  pointed  out 
to  you. 

Now  I  must  not  preach  a  sermon,  but  I  will  speak 
of  a  few  things  about  which  we  ought  to  have  an  un- 
derstanding, in  order  to  have  the  machinery  of  the 
school  run  smoothly. 

Every  pupil  was  giving  the  closest  attention. 
Stockley's  words  appealed  to  their  good  sense  and 
their  good  sense  responded  to  the  appeal.  He  con- 
tinued : 

"The  first  thing  I  wish  to  speak  of  is  how  to  call 
you  in  from  the  play-ground.  The  time  for  opening 
in  the  morning  is  9  o'clock.  I  rang  the  bell  two  min- 
utes before  nine.  Perhaps  that  allows  you  too  little 
time.  What  do  you  think?" 

Allie  Harley  raised  her  hand,  and,  in  response  to 
Stockley's  nod,  said:  "It'd  take  anyone  four  or  five 
minutes  to  come  from  the  farthest  part  of  tne  yard." 

"Quite  likely,  and  it  is  possible  that  five  minutes 
is  hardly  enough  time.  Suppose  we  try  it  right  now, 
and  we  can  fix  the  time  for  ringing  the  bell  accord- 
ingly. I  would  like  to  have  some  one  go  to  that  scrub 
oak  I  see  just  outside  the  school  grounds  and  then 
walk  back  and  take  his  seat,  walking  about  as  fast  as 
he  generally  does  in  the  street.  I  will  time  him  from 
the  moment  he  leaves  the  tree.  How  will  that  do?" 


14  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

he  asked,  looking  about  the  room.  No  one  spoke,  but 
several  of  the  girls  and  boys  smilingly  nodded  their 
heads. 

This  was  a  different  way  of  beginning  a  term  from 
any  they  had  ever  experienced,  and  the  idea  pleased 
them. 

"Charlie  Marfield,  will  you  go?" 

Charlie  assented,  and  away  he  went. 

"Allie,"  said  Stockley,  "will  you  come  and  help  me 
keep  time?" 

Allie  looked  around  at  the  other  girls  with  a  half- 
pleased  grimace  and  took  her  place  at  the  window 
with  the  teacher,  who  held  his  watch  in  his  hand. 
Looking  at  the  window,  Charlie  started  at  Stockley's 
signal,  just  as  the  second  hand  began  a  circuit.  Pres- 
ently Charlie  opened  the  door  and  walked  to  his  seat. 

"Allie  may  announce  the  time  it  took,"  said  Stock- 
ley. 

"Forty-four  seconds,"  was  the  report. 

The  pupils  looked  at  one  another  with  surprise  and 
incredulity,  and  at  recess  some  of  them  taxed  Charlie 
with  running  "as  tight  as  he  could  lick,"  but  he  stout- 
ly declared  he  had  walked  at  an  ordinary  gait. 

"What  do  you  think  now,"  asked  the  teacher,  "will 
two  minutes  be  enough  time  ?" 

No  objection  being  raised,  it  was  decided  that  the 
calling-in  bell  should  be  rung  two  minutes  before  the 
time  of  beginning  work  in  the  morning  and  afternoon 
sessions  and  after  recess. 

"Now,"  resumed  the  master,  "there  is  another  mat- 
ter I  would  like  to  talk  over  with  you,  and  this  matter, 
too,  must  be  settled  in  a  way  that  is  best  for  your  in- 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  1 5 

terests,  because  this  school  is  not  supported  for  my 
benefit.  First,  let  me  ask  all  who  have  come  into  the 
room  since  we  began  roll-call  to  rise."  Three  pupils 
rose. 

"Please  give  me  your  number,  Ole." 
"Fourteen." 
"Yours,  Alice." 
"Thirty-eight." 
Yours,  Calvin." 
"Forty." 

As  the  numbers  were  given,   the  teacher  placed 
some  figures  near  them,  and  the  pupils  took  their  seats. 
The  numbers  then  appeared  on  the  board  like  this : 
X  1 

X  5 

11         14 
17 

X         23 

X         32 

35 

5         38 
4         40 

"These  numbers  with  an  oblique  cross  at  the  left 
do  not  really  belong  here,"  explained  Stockley.  "They 
belong  to  pupils  who  were  in  their  seats  at  9  o'clock. 
The  small  figures  at  the  left  of  14,  38,  and  40  show 
how  many  minutes  after  nine  each  one  came  in.  Num- 
bers 17  and  35  are  still  absent.  The  trustees  require 
me  to  keep  a  record  of  your  attendance  which  shall 
show  three  things  each  day:  first,  who  are  present; 
second,  who  are  absent;  and  third,  who  enter  after 
nine  o'clock."  At  this  point  Mary  Milligan  raised 
her  hand. 


l6  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL  ' 

"What  is  it,  Mary?" 

"Is  it  called  tardy,"  asked  Mary,  "if  you  come  in  a 
minute  or  two  after  nine  ?" 

"It  does  not  matter  very  much,  what  it's  called," 
replied  the  teacher;  "is  it  after  nine  two  minutes  or 
one  minute  after  nine,  or  even  two  seconds  or  one 
second  after  nine?  If  you  wish  to  take  a  train  to  St. 
Paul  and  you  arrive  at  the  station  two  seconds  too  late, 
are  you  left?  You  would  hardly  ask  the  station  agent 
whether  he  calls  it  left." 

"I  can't  always  be  here  at  nine  o'clock,"  broke  in 
Henry  Stular. 

"There  may  be  several  of  you  situated  like  Henry," 
said  Stockley.  "The  record  does  not  show  whether 
you  are  to  blame  or  not ;  it  simply  shows  that  you  were 
in  your  seats  or  that  you  were  not,  at  a  certain  time." 

"Yer  watch's  too  fast,"  blurted  out  Arthur  Blazer, 
in  an  impudent  tone. 

"That  is  certainly  possible,"  was  the  reply.  "It  was 
set  this  morning1  by  Mr.  Robinson's  regulator,  which 
is  corrected  every  day  to  show  right  time.  There  is 
likely  to  be  considerable  difference  in  your  clocks  at 
home,  and  I  suggest  that  you  aim  to  be  here  at  least 
five  minutes  before  opening  time.  Now,  we  will  begin 
the  lessons  of  the  day.  I  will  arrange  later  for  some 
regular  opening  exercises.  You  have  assisted  me  very 
much  in  settling  some  important  points,  and  the  time 
consumed  has  not  been  thrown  away." 

The  school  exercises  proceeded  with  the  usual  in- 
cidents until  the  time  for  the  geography  class  in  the 
afternoon. 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  I/ 

It  would  perhaps  be  better  art  to  defer  the  incident 
which  follows  to  a  later  stage  of  the  story.  It  may  be 
that  in  a  properly  constructed  plot,  it  should  be  insert- 
ed at  about  the  end  of  the  first  two  weeks  of  school. 
The  reason  for  relating  it  here  is  that  it  actually  hap- 
pened on  this  day,  the  second  day  of  school. 

Children's  minds  act  with  greater  rapidity  in  the 
formation  of  opinions  than  the  minds  of  older  people. 
Their  opinions  also  change  more  readily.  It  by  no 
means  follows  that  children  are  more  likely  to  err  in 
their  opinions  or  estimates  of  a  stranger's  character 
than  are  their  elders.  Rutledge  Stockley  had  been 
principal  of  the  Green  Valley  school  only  a  little  more 
than  one  day,  yet  it  is  not  putting  it  too  strongly  to 
say  that  he  had  already  captured  the  school.  There 
was  manifest  in  all  he  said  and  did  the  purpose  to  do 
right.  The  scholars  had  adroitly  been  made  to  feel 
that  the  school  was  theirs.  The  school-master  had  con- 
sulted them,  had  taken  them  into  his  confidence,  had 
made  them  his  co-partners  in  the  direction  of  school 
interests.  There  was  already  growing  in  them  a  sense 
of  responsibility  for  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
good  conduct. 

Stockley  did  not  sit  behind  his  desk  while  hearing 
recitations.  He  had  a  notion  that  it  would  promote 
the  good-fellowship  relation  he  was  anxious  to  estab- 
lish with  his  pupils,  to  keep  himself  constantly  in  their 
midst,  and  furthermore  that  to  do  so  would  forestall 
the  inception  of  the  mischiefs — small  and  great — 
which  are  so  wasteful  of  the  pupils'  time,  and  so  prej- 
udicial to  good  order. 

At  half  past  two  the  fourth  reader  class  was  ex- 


l8  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

caused  from  the  recitation  seats  and  Stockley  called, 
"The  geography  class." 

This  was  the  moment  to  which  Arthur  Blazer  and 
James  Wakely  had  looked  forward  all  day, — the  latter 
with  faint-hearted  apprehension,  the  former  with  per- 
fect confidence  in  his  ability  to  successfully  defy  the 
master  and  inaugurate  his  own  reign  for  the  year  as 
the  bully  of  Green  Valley  school.  Arthur  quickly 
glanced  at  James  to  see  if  he  was  game,  but  the  latter 
avoided  Arthur's  eye.  His  jaw  was  slightly  trembling 
and  he  had  a  queer  throbbing  in  his  throat.  Mean- 
while the  other  members  of  the  geography  class  were 
passing  to  the  recitation  seats  in  front.  When  they 
were  seated  Stockley  noticed  the  absence  of  Arthur 
and  James. 

"Arthur — James,"  said  he,  "the  geography  class 
has  been  called." 

James  looked  down  at  an  open  book  on  his  desk; 
his  mouth  was  getting  dry;  his  face  was  pale;  his 
hands  shook.  Arthur  stared  at  the  master  and  said 
nothing. 

Stockley  had  but  a  moment  for  thought;  he  was 
not  sure  of  the  best  thing  to  say,  but  it  would  not 
do  to  ignore  the  defiant  conduct  of  the  boys;  he 
must  say  something.  Again  his  reserve  of  power 
and  good  sense  came  to  his  aid. 

"Arthur,"  he  said,  "do  you  remember  that  you 
were  put  into  the  geography  class?"  It  had  not 
taken  him  three  seconds  to  see  that  Arthur  was  the 
commander  in  chief  of  the  rebellious  force,  and  he 
instantly  decided  to  attack  the  citadel. 

"I  ain't  goin'  to  study  g'ogerphy,"  bellowed  Ar- 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  IQ 

thur. 

"Have  you  talked  with  your  parents  about  it?" 

"I  don't  haf  to  talk  'th  'em.' 

"Arthur,  if  there  is  any  good  reason  why  you 
should  not  enter  the  geography  class,  I  will  discuss 
it  with  you  later.  But  today,  I  wish  you  to  come 
into  the  class." 

There  was  no  reply  from  Arthur. 

He  leaned  back  in  his1  seat,  his  lips  tightly  closed, 
an  evil  smile  lurking  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth, 
his  head  slowly  turning  from  side  to  side  as  his  eyes 
made  bids  for  admiration  from  under  his  lowered 
eyebrows.  Stockley  was  already  pale  and  the  little 
color  remaining  in  his  face  now  left  it.  It  was,  how- 
ever, with  a  firm  tone  that  he  said: 

"Are  you  coming  to  the  class,  Arthur?" 

"No !"  roared  the  bully,  his  stubby  hair  bristling  de- 
fiance, as  he  braced  himself  for  the  shock  of  the  battle. 
But  the  shock  did  not  come. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  teacher.  "Mary,  please 
name  the  cotton  states."  The  recitation  proceeded  as 
if  nothing  had  occurred  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of 
the  school.  The  girls,  who  had  begun  to  look  fright- 
ened, grew  calm  and  tried  to  resume  their  study. 
The  faces  of  some  of  the  boys  showed  their  disgust 
at  the  timid  way  in  which  the  teacher  had  backed 
down.  It  was  in  the  air  that  Stockley  had  lowered 
himself  in  the  estimation  of  the  school,  and  he  keen- 
ly felt  it.  But  he  gave  no  outward  s?gn  of  his  feel- 
ing. As  the  recitation  progressed,  he  paced  back  and 
forth  along  the  aisles  and  in  front  of  the  class, 
pausing  a  moment  to  partly  open  the  front  door  as  if 


2O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

he  needed  more  air,  He  had  no  book  in  his  hand, 
for  he  knew  the  lesson.  His1  path  brought  him  be- 
hind Arthur's  seat,  and  the  boy  quickly  turned  as  if 
expecting1  an  assault.  The  teacher  moved  forward 
past  him  without  diverting  his  eyes  from  the  pupil 
who  was  reciting. 

But  while  outwardly  calm,  his  mind  was  in  a  fer- 
ment. He  seemed  to  have  two  brains  which  worked 
independently  of  each  other, — one  conducting  the 
geography  class  and  the  other  thinking,  thinking, 
thinking  out  the  problem  that  had  been  so  Suddenly 
sprung  upon  him. 

"This  boy  is  twice  my  size" — so  ran  the  thoughts 
of  brain  number  two — "and  has  twice  my  strength; 
if  I  attack  him,  he  is  likely  to  thrash  the  floor  with 
me  or  throw  me  out  of  the  window;  if  I  don't  settle 
this  thing  right  here  and  now,  my  control  over  the 
disorderly  few  is  gone — in  fact  my  influence  over 
the  entire  school  is  ruined."  Again  he  approached  the 
rear  of  Blazer's  desk.  At  this  point,  Stockley  was 
dimly  conscious  that  brain  number  one  heard  a  pupil 
saying:  "Mobile,  the  metropolis  of  Alabama,  is  . 

."  He  heard  no  more;  all  the  blood  in  his  body 
seemed  to  rush  into  his  legs  and  his  arms ;  he  had 
the  strength  of  three  men;  a  rattling  of  seat  hinges 
sounded  thru  the  room,  and  when  the  startled  pu- 
pils looked  around,  a  muscular  body  crowned  by  a 
bullet  head  was  jumping  and  bounding  and  bump- 
ing down  the  aisle,  followed  by  a  pale  figure  whose 
hands  clutched  a  strong  coat  collar.  In  less  than  ten 
seconds  both  figures  had  disappeared  thru  the  front 
door  which  Stockley  had,  while  pacing  the  floor, 


THE  SCHOOL  BULLY  21 

opened  for  that  purpose.  At  the  moment  Blazer 
struck  the  earth  outside,  Stockley  straightened  him 
u-p  and  looking  into  his  eye  while  his  finger  pointed 
to  the  road,  said  "GO!"  The  bully  was  not  a  fool. 
He  knew  he  had  found  his  master  and  he  went. 

When  Stockley  returned  to  the  room,  he  saw 
several  white  faces.  Some  of  the  girls  were  crying. 
Nearly  all  the  pupils  were  standing  and  some  had 
rushed  to  the  windows.  He  stood  on  the  threshold 
and  looked  around.  An  adult  audience  would  have 
applauded.  The  pupils  testified  their  appreciation  of 
his  leadership  by  quietly  taking  their  seats.  James 
Wakely's  eyes  were  bent  upon  his  desk. 

"James,"  said  Mr.  Stockley  in  a  quiet  tone. 
James  looked  up.  Without  a  word  the  teacher 
pointed  to  a  vacant  place  on  the  recitation  seats, 
and  without  protest,  James  sneaked  forward  and 
took  it. 

It  was  a  moral  and  not  a  physical  victory  that 
the  new  teacher  had  won,  and  the  school  so  under- 
stood it. 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT 

Some,  for  renown,  on  scraps  of  learning  dote, 
And  think  they  grow  immortal  as  they  quote. 

— Young. 

The  outcome  of  the  disturbance  described  in  the 
last  chapter  gave  rise  to  no  feeling  of  pride  on  Stock- 
ley's'  part.  On  the  other  hand  he  was  not  disturbed 
with  regret  or  shame  for  his  own  action  in  the  mat- 
ter. He  would  have  preferred  not  to  have  such 
an  issue  arise  as  was  presented  in  Arthur's  conduct, 
but  it  was  forced  upon  him,  and  in  his  method  of 
meeting  it  he  followed  the  dictate  of  the  best  judg- 
ment he  possessed. 

He  learned  by  inquiry  of  Miss  Dix  at  the  close 
of  school,  that  Arthur's  father  was  a  blacksmith,  and 
having  ascertained  the  location  of  his  shop,  he  went 
there  immediately  after  the  close  of  school. 

He  knew  the  story  would  begin  to  travel  as  s*oon 
as  the  children  reached  their  homes.  He  knew  it 
would  take  as  many  shapes  as  there  were  children  to 
tell  it,  and  that  as  it  spread  through  the  community  it 
would  take  on  fantastic  forms  and  would  grow  like 
a  rolling  snowball.  He  believed  it  important  that 
Mr.  Blazer  should  hear  the  story  from  an  original 
source  before  any  distorted  version  of  it  should 
reach  him. 

Mr.   Blazer  was  in  his   shop,  but  another  man   was 
with  him.     Stockley  introduced   himself  to  the  two 


THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT  23 

as  tfie  new  teacher,  saying-  that  as  he  would  prob- 
ably remain  in  Green  Valley  several  months  he 
wanted  to  become  acquainted  with  his  neighbors, 
and  particularly  with  the  parents  of  his  scholars. 
After  a  half  hour's  conversation  on  New  York,  Min- 
nesota, Green  Valley,  St.  Paul,  the  crops,  and  other 
topics,  the  third  man  withdrew,  and  Stockley  gave 
Arthur's  father  a  full  account  of  the  event  of  the 
afternoon. 

"Now,  Mr.  Blazer,"  said  he,  "it  must  be  under- 
stood that  Arthur  is  not  expelled  from  school ;  the 
school  is  maintained  for  the  benefit  of  every  person 
in  the  district  of  school  age,  and  I  would  have  no  right 
to  expel  him  even  if  I  desired  to  do  so,  which  I  do  not. 
The  door  is  wide  open  for  his  return  at  any  time." 

"I'm  mighty  glad  you  done  jist  the  way  you  did," 
said  Mr.  Blazer ;  "the  boy  shall  go  back  tomor'r  morn- 
in'  and  beg  y'r  pardon  f'r  'is  behavior." 

"No  apology  is  required  of  Arthur,"  replied  Stock- 
ley.  "Arthur's  offence  was  more  against  himself  than 
against  me.  A  teacher's  dignity  must  be  very  flimsy 
if  it  can't  be  maintained  without  an  apology  for  ever}' 
offence  the  pupils  commit.  The  only  requirement  is 
that  he  do  the  best  for  himself  and  that  he  keep  from 
disturbing  the  school.  Suppose  you  tell  Arthur  to  go 
to  school  in  the  morning  as  if  nothing  unusual  had 
happened.  If  he  wishes  to  do  this,  I  shall  not  speak  of 
this  trouble  to  him  or  to  any  one  else  except  the  mem- 
bers of  the  board." 

Mr.  Blazer  gladly  assented  to  this  disposition  of 
the  matter,  and  Stockley  never  afterward  referred  to  it, 
except  to  Mr.  Dow,  whom  he  acquainted  with  the  inci- 


24  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

dent  that  evening.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  record  that 
Arthur  returned  to  school  and  became  an  exemplary 
pupil.  Unfortunately,  however,  he  was  so  constituted 
that  his  wounded  vanity  did  not  readily  heal,  and  he 
had  not  sufficient  courage  to  endure  the  ordeal  of 
facing  the  school  in  whose  presence  he  had  been  so 
signally  humbled.  Two  of  his  brothers  continued  in 
school,  and  were  models  of  good  behavior. 

In  order  to  give  legality  to  Stockley's  contract  with 
the  board  of  trustees,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  take 
an  examination  before  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools  and  obtain  a  certificate  of  qualification  from 
that  officer.  The  public  examination  of  the  county 
teachers  had  already  taken  place,  but  it  was  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  superintendent  to  examine  an  applicant 
privately  for  a  small  fee.  Mr.  Harkins,  the  superin- 
tendent of  Anita  county,  lived  on  a  farm  at  Summer 
Lake,  twelve  miles  distant,  but  he  frequently  visited 
Green  Valley,  which  was  the  county  seat. 

Stockley's  inquiries  about  Mr.  Harkins  always 
elicited  a  smile  from  the  Green  Valley  people.  "He's 
a  queer  old  duffer,"  said  Harry  Dole.  "Odd  as  Dick's 
hatband;"  "Ye'd  think  he'd  swallered  a  dictionary  to 
hear  'im  talk ;"  "A  very  learned  man ;"  "Mighty  good 
man,  but  likes  'is  toddy  too  well."  These  and  similar 
expressions  were  contributed  gratuitously  by  a  group 
of  men,  young  and  old,  who  sat  or  lounged  on  boxes 
and  on  the  counter  in  Dan  Loring's  grocery  store.  Dan 
was  one  of  Stockley's  earliest  acquaintances  in  the  vil- 
lage. Going  into  the  store  for  the  purchase  of  some 
trifle,  he  had  been  attracted  by  the  grocer's  jolly  face 


THE  COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENT  25 

and  the  kindly  and  honest  frankness  that  was  appar- 
ent in  his  conversation  and  manner.  Dan  had  been 
predisposed  to  respect  Stockley  by  the  account  of  the 
Arthur  Blazer  incident  coming  to  him  thru  his  son 
Charlie,  whose  reports  of  the  new  teacher's  methods 
had  prepared  his  father  to  greet  the  stranger  with  cor- 
diality. Stockley  had  dropped  in  to  Loring's  store 
to  inquire  about  the  road  to  Summer  Lake  and  to  ask 
some  questions  relating  to  the  county  superintendent. 
His  inquiry  had  elicited  the  remarks  recorded  above. 
He  learned  from  Dan  that  Harkins  was  a  man  of  re- 
markable intelligence,  a  constant  reader  of  books  and 
newspapers,  somewhat  disposed  to  pedantic  vanity, 
but,  withal,  gracious  to  intelligent  people  who  were  sa- 
gacious enough  to  listen  with  apparent  intensity  of  in- 
terest to  his  extended,  monologues  on  literature,  art, 
history,  and  politics. 

Dan  further  informed  the  teacher  that  the  superin- 
tendent spent  his  Saturdays  at  the  county  seat,  and 
that  he  "put  up"  at  the  Excelsior  Hotel,  so  that  it 
would  be  unnecessary  to  make  the  trip  to  Summer 
Lake. 

On  the  third  Saturday  of  Stockley's  stay  in  Green 
Valley,  he  met  the  county  superintendent  of  schools. 
He  had  just  entered  the  hotel  office  after  a  chat  with 
Dan  Loring.  "Mr.  Stockley,"  said  Austin  Black,  the 
landlord,  "let  me  make  you  acquainted  with  Mr.  Har- 
kins. Mr.  Harkins  is  the  county  superintendent." 

While  Mr.  Black  was  talking,  Stockley  turned  and 
took  a  rapid  survey  of  the  educational  magnate.  What 
he  saw  was  a  neatly  dressed  man  of  short  stature  with 
a  thin,  intellectual  face ;  small  blue  eyes  whose  red  and 


26  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

watery  lids  might  indicate  either  studious  or  bibulous 
tendencies ;  thin,  grayish  hair ;  a  thin  chest ;  thin,  bony, 
and  veiny  hands ;  thin  legs ;  and,  as  he  soon  discovered, 
a  thin  voice.  Stockley  took  the  slender  hand  which 
he  saw  extended  toward  him  and  uttered  a  brief  con- 
ventionalism to  which  Mr.  Harkins  listened  with  cour- 
teous attention  before  delivering  his  own  more  cere- 
monious greeting.  He  gave  his  head  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible oscillatory  movement  from  side  to  side,  which 
subsided  into  a  slight  inclination  to  the  left,  as  he  said : 
"Mr.  Stockley,  you  may  possibly  recall  the  lines 
written  by  the  poet  Shenstone  on  a  tavern  window : 

Whoe'er  has  travell'd  life's  dull  round, 
Where'er  his   stages   may  have  been, 

May  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
The  warmest  welcome  at  an  inn. 

"Let  me  assure  you,  sir,  that  such  welcome  to  Anita 
County  as  can  be  given  in  an  inn  I  most  heartily  ex- 
tend to  you." 

His  manner  was  grave,  and  his  consciousness  of 
saying  something  well  worth  hearing  was  manifest  in 
a  pose  and  manner  that  were  easy  to  interpret  but  dif- 
ficult to  describe.  Stockley  was  at  a  loss  how  to  reply 
to  a  salutation  so  imposing.  However,  he  managed 
to  thank  the  superintendent  for  his  cordiality  and  to 
intimate  that  he  was  a  candidate  for  examination  with 
a  view  to  obtaining  a  license  to  teach. 

"The  ceremony  of  examination,  sir,"  said  the  super- 
intendent, "is  one  which,  by  the  statutes  of  the  state, 
is  imperative.  I  have  little  faith  in  the  modern  vogue 
of  measuring  a  prospective  teacher's  brain  by  arith- 
metical and  linguistical  interrogatories.  However,  un- 


THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT  27 

der  present  conditions,  this  form  is  a  necessity,  and 
necessitas  non  habet  legem."1 

The  Latin  quotation  was  delivered  with  the  head- 
oscillation  and  -tilting  referred  to  above  and  a  light  em- 
phasis on  the  words  quoted  as  if  in  acknowledgment 
that  they  were  not  original.  Stockley  had  some  doubt 
as  to  the  applicability  of  the  quotation  to  the  then 
present  conditions,  but  his  classical  lore  was  limited 
to  a  very  slight  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  an 
Asiatic  slave  by  the  name  of  Aesop,  and  he  could  not 
be  certain. 

"Where  will  it  be  most  convenient  for  you  to  take 
the  examination?"  asked  Stockley. 

"I  think,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Harkins,  that  we  shall  be 
able   to   collogue   more    satisfactorily    in    some    place 
where  we  will  not  be  subjected  to  the  gaze  of  the  vul- 
gar.   It  is  by  no  means  desirable  that  we  be 
'Gorgonized     .     .     .     from  head  to  foot 
With  a   stony   [rustic]    stare.' 

Let  us  retire  to  the  sitting-room." 

The  sitting-room  was  vacant,  and  Stockley  seated 
himself  at  the  center-table  with  a  tablet  and  pencil. 

"Mr.  Stockley,"  began  the  superintendent,  after 
they  were  seated,  "I  lay  no  claim  to  clairvoyance  by 
chaomancy,.*  onomancy,*  or  any  other  species  of  divin- 
ation, but  Lam  impelled  to  say  (and  it  is  no  flattery  to 
you  to  say  it)  that  your  face  is  a  guarantee  of  your 
scholarship,  and  even  your  name  carries  with  it  an  as- 
surance of  culture.  In  order  to  comply  with  the  lex 

1Necessity  is  not  governed  by  law 
2Divination  from  appearances  in  the  air 
3Divination  from  the  letters  of  a  name 


28  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

scripta,1  however,  I  must  apply  the  test  of  arithmancy, 
You  may  work  this  problem  if  you  please : 

"What  is  the  difference  between  six  dozen  dozen 
and  half  a  dozen  dozen  ?" 

Stockley  quickly  gave  the  right  answer  without  us- 
ing his  pencil. 

"I  am  pleased  with  your  proficiency  in  this  science," 
said  Mr.  Harkins,  with  gusto,  "for  altho  too  much 
emphasis  is  given  in  our  schools  to  so-called  practical 
work  in  arithmetic,  such  work  being  to  a  considerable 
degree  ad  captandum  vulgus1,  still  there  is  a  high  value 
in  mathematical  exercises,  when  rightly  conducted, 
which  manifests  itself  in  increased  power  to  cogitate 
with  exactness  and  to  arrive  at  conclusions  with  pre- 
cision. The  Phenicians,  in  initiating  the  ancient 
Greeks  into  the  science  of  number,  conferred  upon  Eu- 
rope far  more  than  the  power  to  make  commercial  cal- 
culations ;  they  laid  the  foundation  of  a  mental  culture 
which  contributed  in  no  small  measure  to  that  refine- 
ment which  was  Greece,  that  strength  which  was 
Rome,  that  freedom  which  was  to  issue  from  the 
womb  of  time  under  the  name  of  England,  and  that 
progress  which  was  to  characterize  her  lusty  daughter, 
America." 

Stockley  was  interested  in  the  remarks  of  the  super- 
intendent, but  he  feared  that  night  would  come  be- 
fore the  conclusion  of  the  examination. 

"Mr.  Harkins,"  he  ventured,  at  the  first  pause, 
"your  reflections  interest  me  very  much,  and  it  shall 


THE  COUNTY   SUPERINTENDENT  29 

be  my  en'deavor  to  profit  by  them.  What  further  test 
would  you  like  to  give  me  in  arithmetic  ?" 

"No  further  test ;  of  arithmetic  we  have  had  qiian- 
tum  sufiicit2;  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  the  knowledge 
you  have  displayed,  and  now  we  will  turn  to  the  con- 
sideration of  a  subject  which  should  occupy  a  large 
place  in  all  the  schools  of  a  democratic  country.  What 
grammar  have  you  studied,  Mr.  Stockley?" 

"Goold  Brown's,  sir." 

"You  could  not  have  done  better.  Goold  Brown  is 
the  legitimate  successor  of  Lindley  Murray,  whose 
great  work  has  contributed  more  to  the  real  greatness 
of  America  than  the  wonderful  inventions  of  Eli 
Whitney  and  Robert  Fulton,  with  which  it  was  con- 
temporary. Do  you  remember,  sir,  the  words  of  Quin- 
tilian  on  the  title  page  of  Brown's  grammar?  I  see 
them  there  distinctly,  at  this  moment,  a  little  below  the 
middle  of  the  page."  Here  the  little  man's  head  oscil- 
lated and  settled  into  its  quotation  tilt  as  he  softly  rolled 
out:  "Ne  quis  igitur  tanqua^n  parva  fastidiat  Gram- 
maticos  elementa."* 

He  gave  the  young  teacher  time  to  recover  from 
the  effect  of  the  quotation  before  saying,  "Will  you 
kindly  repeat  Brown's  last  rule  of  syntax  ?" 

This  was  the  longest  and,  to  Stockley,  the  most 
obscure  of  Brown's  rules,  but  he  had  committed  it 
when  in  school,  word  for  word,  and  he  now  promptly 
repeated  it,  from  "A  future  contingency"  to  "requires 
the  indicative  mood." 

"Excellent!"  was  the  superintendent's  commenda- 

"Enough 

sLet  no  student  of  grammar,  therefore,  despise  elementary 
principles  on  the  ground  that  they  are  of  trifling  importance 


3O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

tion,  "and  now  I  will  ask  you  to  parse  this  passage 
from  a  poet  of  merit,  Thomas  Hoccleve,  who,  in  his 
Letter  of  Cupid,  ministered  to  the  pleasure  of  no  less 
a  monarch  than  the  puissant  Henry  of  England,  fifth 
of  that  name : 

'O !  every  man  ought  to  have  a  herte  tendre 
Unto  woman,  and  deem  her  honourable, 

Whether  her  shape  be  either  thick  or  slender, 
Or  she  be  bad  or  good,  this  is  no  fable.' " 

The  parsing  was  done  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
superintendent,  who,  after  impressing  upon  the  exam- 
inee the  importance  of  grammar  as  cos  ingeniorum* 
as  well  as  "a  means  of  combating  the  vicious  tendency 
of  the  age  to  logodaedaly,"5  proceeded  to  test  him  in 
history,  orthography,  "chirography,"  and  reading. 
The  time  given  to  these  subjects  was  occupied,  in  the 
main,  by  the  examiner,  himself,  who,  for  the  edification 
of  his  interlocutor  and  the  gratification  of  his  own 
vanity,  drew  upon  the  quaint  treasures  in  the  store- 
house of  his  memory. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Stockley,"  he  said,  in  conclusion, 
"I  trust  you  have  not  found  our  conference  operose.8 
It  is  a  veritable  delight  to  me  to  introduce  into  our 
educational  coterie  so  erudite  a  person  as  yourself.  It 
may  be  leveful7  to  remark  that,  assuming  the  truth  of 
the  proverb  vultus  est  index  animi*  you  have  before 

*A  sharpener  of  the  wits 

§A  playing  with  words 

'Tedious 

Permissible 

"The  face  is  an  index  of  the  mind 


THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENT  3! 

you  a  fruitful  as  well  as  a  profitable  career.  You  have 
the  scholarly  vocation ;  in  exact  proportion  to  your  de- 
votion as  a  teacher  will  be  your  progress  as  a  scholar; 
qui  docet  discit*  Shrink  from  no  burden  which  you 
find  in  the  line  of  your  duty;  leve'fit  quod  bene  fertur 
onus.10  Relieve,  quantum  vis,11  the  tedium  of  your 
labors  by  legitimate  pleasure,  for  as  Publius  Syrus 
tersely  puts  it  'The  bow  too  tensely  strung  is  easily 
broken.'  Avoid  nugacity,12  follow,  foriter  et  rectels 
those  inner  promptings  which  you  instinctively  cognize 
as  true. 

'And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day,' 
that  your  success  in  your  chosen  profession  is  assured. 
I  will  now  prepare  the  document  which  shall  be  your 
legal  warrant  for  pursuing  your  work  in  this  county." 

So  saying,  he  filled  the  blanks  in  a  certificate  of  the 
first  grade  which  he  took  from  his  satchel,  placing  the 
number  10  opposite  the  name  of  each  branch. 

Stockley  was  amazed.  He  had  answered  the  simp- 
lest questions  in  the  "common  branches,"  and  no  ques- 
tions on  the  "higher  branches"  had  been  asked,  yet  he 
saw  on  the  margin  of  his  certificate,  "Geometry,  10," 
"Physics,  10,"  etc.  He  made  no  protest.  There  was 
much  in  Mr.  Harkins's  hortation  (He  could  hardly 
help  thinking  now  in  such  latin  words  as  he  knew) 
which  he  did  not  understand,  but  there  was  also  much 
that  appealed  to  him  as  valuable.  He  therefore  de- 

'A  person  who  teaches  learns 

10A  burden  is  lightened  by  being  bravely  borne 

"As  much  as  you  choose 

"Flippancy 

"Bravely  and  honestly 


3^  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

termined  to  profit  by  his  superintendent's  advice  and 
to  cultivate  his  friendship. 

Mr.  Harkins  soon  bade  Stockley  good  night,  and  he 
retired  to  his  bed  a  licensed  teacher. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VISITORS   DAY 

The  lads  and  lassies  in  their  best 

Were  dress'd  from  top  to  toe. — Ransford. 

When  Rutledge  Stockley  applied  for  the  principal- 
ship  of  Green  Valley  School,  he  had  no  definite  plan 
for  the  future.  It  was  "Necessity's  sharp  pinch"  that 
turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  teaching  as  a  temporary 
expedient,  while  he  was  deliberating  on  the  ways  and 
means  of  maintaining  himself  thru  a  Minnesota 
winter.  At  the  close  of  his  first  week  in  Green  Valley, 
he  liked  his  work ;  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight,  he  found 
himself  thoroughly  interested  in  it ;  and  by  the  time  six 
weeks  had  passed  he  was  seriously  considering  the 
question  of  committing  himself  to  the  teacher's  life. 
He  had  never  been  in  college  and  had  not  even  finished 
a  preparatory  course.  He  had  once  skimmed  over 
twenty  or  thirty  pages  of  an  elementary  algebra  in  a 
night  school  and  had  made  a  futile  attempt,  in  old 
Fateville  Academy,  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of 
Aesop's  fables  with  the  assistance  of  those  worthies, 
Andrews  and  Stoddard,  so  well  known  to  the  acad- 
emy student  of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  had,  at  the 
time  our  story  begins,  a  certain  polish  resulting  from 
a  half-dozen  years  of  metropolitan  life  and  heightened 
by  a  few  months  of  transatlantic  travel.  By  general 
reading,  he  had  gathered  the  cream  of  English  and 
American  literature ;  had  become,  in  a  way,  acquainted 
with  the  fundamental  propositions  of  religjous,  moral, 


34  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

political,  educational,  and  speculative  philosophy;  and 
had  picked  up  some  surface  knowledge  of  "science," — 
enough  to  render  apparent  to  him  his  profound  ig- 
norance of  its  details  and  its  principles..  He  had 
learned  grammar,  arithmetic,  geography,  rhetoric,  and 
logic  by  contact  with  business  and  business  men,  and 
by  reading  good  current  literature.  He  had  become 
a  good  oral  reader  by  absorbing,  without  knowing  it, 
the  style  of  Wallack  and  Dyott,  Edwin  Forrest  and 
Macready,  as  exhibited  in  the  theatres  of  New  York, 
or  rather  by  imbibing  the  essential  ideas  out  of  which 
their  style  grew,  for  Stockley  was  not  a  slavish  imi- 
tator. 

The  young  teacher  would  have  been  found  poorly 
equipped  for  a  rigid  technical  examination,  given  by 
a  superintendent  of  the  microscopic  order,  but  Mr. 
Harkins  had  had  the  insight  to  see  and  the  wisdom  to 
give  recognition  to  his  general  fitness  for  his  work 
and  his  "promise  and  potency"  of  growth.  In  fact, 
Harkins,  soon  after  handing  Stockley  his  certificate, 
had  said  to  Mr.  Dow,  with  his  lateral  head-tilt,  "I 
am  able  to  apply  to  your  new  teacher,  sir,  a  line  from 
the  third  book  of  Edward  Young's  The  Last  Days: 
There  buds  the  promise  of  celestial  worth.'" 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  Stockley 
had  made  no  special  preparation  for  the  close  ques- 
tioning he  had  expected  from  Mr.  Harkins. "  He  had 
"boned  down"  to  special  study  for  two  weeks  and  had 
twice  surprised  himself  at  work  in  the 

"  .   .   ,   .  wee  short  hours  ayont  the  twal." 

A  few  months  later,  when  he  had  become  better 
acquainted  with  his  county  superintendent,  he  told  him, 


VISITORS  DAY  35 

laughingly,  of  his  strenuous  nocturnal  labors  in 
preparation  for  climbing  an  examination-mountain 
which  had  changed  into  a  conversational  mole-hill. 
Whereupon  that  official  cocked  his  head  on  one  side 
and  said,  with  a  pleasant  twinkle  of  the  eye:  "I  sus- 
pect, sir,  that  you  are  in  sympathy  with  the  sentiment 
expressed  by  Tom  Moore  in  The  Young  May  Moon-. 

'And  the  best  of  all  ways 
To  lengthen  our  days 

Is  to  steal  a  few  hours  from  the  night,  my  dear/" 
As  Stockley's  desire  to  follow  the  teacher's  life 
grew  stronger,  there  grew  up  beside  it  the  determina- 
tion to  rank  first-rate  in  that  calling.  To  that  end 
he  began  reading  professional  books.  It  cannot  be 
said  with  truth  that  he  laid  out  for  himself  a  course 
of  professional  reading.  It  might  possibly  have  been 
better  had  he  done  so,  but — right  or  wrong — he  plan- 
ned for  only  one  book  at  a  time.  When  that  was  com- 
pleted, he  procured  another,  not  because  that  was  the 
next  one  on  a  list  that  had  been  made  up  by  himself 
or  by  a  reading  circle,  but  because,  for  a  reason  that 
was  not  always  the  same,  it  particularly  attracted  him 
when  he  was  ready  for  it. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  Teachers  Reading 
Circle  for  Anita  County,  and  he  faithfully  pursued  the 
line  of  reading  and  study  planned  by  the  State  Teach- 
ers Reading  Circle  Board.  At  the  meetings  of  the 
Circle  in  the  Green  Valley  section  of  the  county,  he 
was  the  tacitly  acknowledged  leader.  While  unavoid- 
ably subconscious  of  his  mental  superiority,  his  modest 
demeanor  and  his  hearty  co-operation  in  all  exercises 


36  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

forestalled  jealousy  and  made  him  a  favorite  with  the 
members  of  the  Circle. 

But  while  he  entered  cordially  into  the  prescribed 
plans  of  the  Reading  Circle,  he  was  so  constituted — or 
thought  he  was — that  he  could  secure  the  greatest 
benefit  by  proposing  to  himself  some  easily  attainable 
end,  and  pushing  on,  when  that  end  was  reached,  to 
something  higher,  and  so  on  and  on  and  on.  He  was 
not  ignorant  of  the  sentiment  expressed  by  Browning 
in  The  Inn  Album: 

"Better  have  failed  in  the  high  aim,  as  I, 
Than  vulgarly  in  the  low  aim  succeed," 

nor  of  Pope's  epigrammatic  line : 

"Not  failure,  but  low  aim  is  crime," 
but  he  believed  that  a  low  aim  might  be  as  worthy  as  a 
high  one,  and  that  he  who  would  reach  the  high  peaks 
of  excellence  should  aim  first  to  ascend  the  foothills, 
leaving  in  temporary  abeyance  the  question  of  climbing 
the  greater  heights.  His  happiness  was  in  the  present 
and  in  constant  upward  progress.  His  felicity  was  not 
contingent  on  ascending  "Fame's  ladder"  to  a  given 
height.  His  favorite  passages  touching  this  question 
were  those  from  Chaucer  (The  Frankeleine's  Pro- 
logue} : 

"Truth  is  the  highest  thing  that  man  may  keep," 
and  Longfellow  (The  Ladder  of  St.  Augustine)  : 

"  we  have  feet  to  scale  and  climb 

By  slow  degrees,  by  more  and  more, 

The  cloudy  summits  of  our  time." 

Stockley  made  a  wise  selection  in  choosing  his  first 
pedagogical  reading. 

"A  guardian  angel  o'er  his  life  presiding"1  guided 
him  to  Page's  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teach- 

1Samuel  Rogers — Human  Life, 


VISITORS  DAY  37 

ing.  From  this  work,  which  pulsated  with  the  life 
blood  of  a  true  teacher,  there  came  to  him  an  inspira- 
tion which  remained  with  him  to  the  end  of  his  peda- 
gogical career.  This  was  followed  by  a  book  on 
School  Management,  another  on  Methods  of  Teaching, 
and  still  another  on  Psychology  as  Applied  in  Teaching. 

Rutledge  Stockley's  mind  tended  to  the  practical. 
When  he  read  anything  that  referred  to  his  work  as  a 
teacher,  he  asked  himself,  "Does  that  apply  to  my 
work?"  and  "How  can  I  make  that  precept  apply  in 
my  school?"  He  rejected  or  deferred  the  application 
of  some  principles  as  not  adapted  to  his  conditions, 
and  those  which  seemed  to  him  applicable  he  modified 
so  as  to  fit  them  for  use  in  his  school.  The  words 
WHY  and  HOW  presented  themselves  in  capital  letters 
on  every  page  of  his  professional  reading.  A  work  on 
Method,  for  example,  stated  that  "The  most  effective 
work  can  be  done  with  a  class  only  when  each  mem- 
ber is  attentive  to  the  matter  in  hand."  "Why  is  it," 
he  asked  himself,  "that  Attention  is  a  basis  for  all  ef- 
fective work?"  When  that  question  had  been  satis- 
factorily answered,  the  next  one  arose :  "How  can  I 
secure  Maude  Clarke's  and  Mary  Milligan's  attention 
in  the  geography  class?"  He  worked  fne  problem  out 
in  his  own  room  at  the  Excelsior  Hotel,  and  tested 
his  conclusions  in  the  geography  class  the  very  next 
day,  altering  them,  when  necessary,  to  suit  the  nature  of 
Maude  Clarke  and  Mary  Milligan. 

Stockley  had  seen  in  his  educational  paper  an  ac- 
count ol  how  Visitors  Day  had  been  observed  in  the 
rural  schools  of  some  county,  and  he  determined  to 
try  how  a  Visitors  Day  would  work  in  Green  Valley. 


38  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

Wednesday,  November  7,  was  the  day  he  selected.  On 
Tuesday  of  the  preceding  week,  he  announced  his  plan 
to  the  pupils. 

"Please  invite  your  parents,"  he  said  to  them  just 
before  closing  school,  "to  come  Wednesday  afternoon 
of  next  week,  and  see  how  you  are  progressing  in 
your  studies.  We  will  begin  at  half-past  one  that 
afternoon,  instead  of  one  o'clock,  so  as  to  give  them 
all  an  opportunity  to  be  here  when  we  begin  work." 

He  noticed  that  Fannie  Vose  had  her  hand  raised. 

"Well,  Fannie?" 

"Won't  there  be  any  speaking  or  reading  or  any- 
thing?" 

"No,  we  will  do  only  regular  school  work.  I  shall 
change  the  program  so  as  to  have  Arithmetic  and 
Grammar  come  in  the  afternoon,  with  Geography  and 
Reading,  and  the  exercises  v/ill  wind  up  with  a  spelling 
contest.  We  will  make  further  arrangements  about  it, 
but  I'll  tell  you  this  now — and  I  wish  you  would  let 
your  parents  know  about  it — there  will  be  no  special 
drill  on  particular  examples  or  pages  or  words  or  maps. 
I  want  your  friends  to  see  just  what  we  are  trying  to 
do.  If  we  fail  before  them  we  will  try  to  work  so  as 
not  to  fail  next  time.  But  we  are  not  going  to  fail — 
are  we?" 

A  general  pressing-together  of  lips  and  shaking  of 
heads  was  sufficient  negative. 

"Our  recitations  next  Wednesday,"  continued  the 
teacher,  "will  be  either  on  the  regular  lesson  assigned 
for  the  day  or  on  what  we  have  gone  over  this  term. 
You  may  prepare  as  much  as  you  wish  by  reviewing  all 
the  lessons  we  have  had  this  term,  but  I  don't  know 


VISITORS  DAY  39 

yet  what  work  I  shall  give  you  on  Visitors  Day,  and 
1  may  not  know  until  the  time  comes.  Of  course,  we 
want  to  make  the  best  showing  we  can  that  afternoon, 
but  there  will  be  no  secret  preparation,  and  you  are 
at  liberty  to  tell  your  parents  and  friends  anything  I 
have  said  to  you  about  it." 

By  night  the  next  day,  Visitors  Day  was  a  com- 
mon topic  of  conversation.  The  Green  Valley  Argus 
announced  it,  and  by  the  time  of  opening  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  designated  day,  all  the  seats,  including  a 
large  number  of  chairs  that  had  been  brought  in  for 
the  occasion,  were  filled.  Many  of  the  mothers  of  the 
children  and  a  few  of  their  fathers  were  in  the  chairs. 
Quite  a  number  of  them  had  never  before  visited  the 
school.  Mr.  Dow,  Mr.  Dundonald,  and  Squire  Green, 
the  members  of  the  school  board,  occupied  seats  on  the 
platform.  At  exactly  half  past  one,  the  teacher  tapped 
the  bell,  and  the  roll  call  began.  Charlie  Loring  en- 
tered the  room  just  after  his  number  had  been  placed 
on  the  blackboard.  He  had  not  been  late  before  in 
that  term.  His  number  was  placed  on  the  board  and 
a  figure  /  was  written  at  the  left  of  it  to  show  that  he 
was  tardy  one  minute  and  not  absent  for  the  half-day. 

"Mr.  Stockley,"  said  Mr.  Dow  in  a  courteous  man- 
ner but  with  the  ring  of  authority  in  his  tone,  "Charlie 
Loring  ought  not  to  be  counted  tardy ;  he  was  here  be- 
fore the  end  of  roll-call."  Stockley  bowed  slightly  but 
made  no  reply. 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  Stockley,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  roll-call,  "  our  exercises  this  afternoon  will 
represent  the  regular  work  of  the  school.  The  only 
deviation  from  our  usual  program  is  the  omission  of 


4O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

some  of  our  afternoon  work  and  the  substitution  oi 
one  or  two  recitations  that  usually  come  in  the  fore-? 
noon.  I  am  glad  so  many  of  you  are  here,  and  I 
shall  try  to  show  you  what  your  children  are  doing  in 
their  everyday  school  work.  I  will  not  occupy  your 
time  with  any  further  explanation.  The  grammar 
class."  The  members  of  the  class  rose  and  quietly 
moved  forward  to  the  recitation  seats. 

The  teacher  asked,  in  quick  succession,  a  number 
of  questions  in  review,  calling-  for  definitions,  rules 
for  the  formation  of  plurals  and  possessives  and  for 
the  comparison  of  adjectives  and  adverbs,  rules  of  syn- 
tax, etc.  This  consumed  most  of  the  time  allowed  to 
grammar.  He  then  requested  that  some  member  of 
the  board  would  select  a  passage  for  parsing  and 
analysis.  After  a  little  delay,  Mr.  Dow  selected  from 
the  grammar  these  sentences : 

"Fitz  James  saw  the  panther  in  the  tree." 
and 

"To  see   him  die,   across  the  waste 

His  son  and  heir  doth  ride  posthaste." 

Stockley  wrote  the  sentences  on  the  blackboard 
where  all  in  the  class  could  see  them. 

"Maude  Clarke  may  begin  the  analysis." 

Maude  rose. 

"  'Fitz  James  saw  the  panther  in  the  tree'  is  -i 
simple  declarative  sentence,"  she  began.  "The  subject 
is  Fitz  James;  the  predicate  is  saw  the  panther  in  the 
tree." 

"Eva  Black  may  continue  the  analysis,"  interrupt- 
ed the  teacher. 

"I  want  to  hear  how  Maude  would  dispose  of  the 
rest  of  the  sentence,"  broke  in  Mr.  Dow. 


VISITORS  DAY  4! 

Stockley  was  a  little  nettled.  He  had  called  on  a 
different  pupil  because  that  was  his  usual  way  of 
doing,  and  he  wanted  to  show  the  everyday  work 
of  the  school.  It  seemed  to  him,  besides,  that  it  would 
have  been  a  matter  of  ordinary  courtesy  for  the  direc- 
tor to  express  his  wish  in  the  torm  of  a  request  and 
address  it  to  him,  the  teacher.  He  wished  to  be  cour- 
teous to  the  visitor  and  to  avoid  offending-  the  director. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  determined  to  retain  in  his 
own  hands  the  direction  of  the  recitation.  His  re- 
serve of  wit  came  to  his  aid,  and,  turning  to  the  direc- 
tor, he  politely  said,  "Certainly,  Mr.  Dow,  Maude 
shall  have  an  opportunity  a  little  later.  Go  on,  Eva," 
he  continued,  turning  to  the  class. 

Mr.  Dow's  face  flushed  slightly,  but  he  said  no 
more,  and  Eva  began : 

"The  predicate  verb  is  saw  and  it  has  the  noun 
panther  for  its  object.  Saw  is  modified  by  the  adverb- 
ial phrase  in  the  tree."  Here,  Eva  took  her  seat. 

"Do  all  agree  to  the  analysis  as  it  has  been  given?" 
asked  the  teacher. 

One  of  the  boys,  Charlie  Marfield,  looked  up  with 
a  half  smile  of  doubt,  and  hesitatingly  asked,  "Doesn't 
the  phrase  in  the  tree  modify  the  noun  panther?" 

Mr.  Dow's  lips  parted  as  if  he  were  about  to 
speak,  but  he  checked  himself  as  Stockley  replied,  "I 
can't  answer  that  question  for  you ;  does  it  seem  to 
you  to  modify  the  meaning  of  the  verb  saw  or  of  the 
noun  panther?" 

"I  think  it  modifies  panther,"  said  Charlie.  At 
this,  several  hands  were  raised. 

"Let  everyone  read  the  sentence  carefully  and  try 
to  get  the  exact  meaning  of  it  and  of  every  element  in 


42  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

it.  Either  Charlie  or  Eva  is  wrong.  Everybody  is 
liable  to  error,  and  both  of  you,  I  believe,  would  rather 
learn  something  new  by  owning  up  frankly  to  a  mis- 
take than  hold  onto  an  error  by  refusing  to  acknowl- 
edge it.  Wouldn't  you,  Charlie?" 

"Yes,  sir,  I  would,"  said  Charlie. 

"Wouldn't  you,  Eva?" 

"O,  I  don't  know, — perhaps  so,"  said  Eva.  There 
was  a  general  laugh. 

"Now,"  said  the  teacher,  "we  cannot  decide  this 
question  by  a  majority  vote,  but  I  want  all  who  have 
any  opinion  to  commit  themselves.  You  may  all  rise." 

The  class  rose. 

"All  who  see  in  the  phrase  in  the  tree  a  modifier 
of  panther  may  be  seated." 

Seven  of  the  eleven  pupils  in  the  class  took  their 
seats. 

"Those  who  see  in  it  a  modifier  of  saw  may  be 
seated." 

Three  more  took  their  seats  and  Eva  Black  alone 
remained  standing. 

"How  do  you  see  it  now,  Eva?"  asked  Stockley. 

"I'm  all  mixed  up  over  it,"  she  replied,  "and  I  don't 
know  what  it  modifies."  This  was  said  with  a  saucy 
but  not  impudent  twinkle  of  the  eye,  and  again-  there 
was  a  laugh  in  which  the  master  joined. 

"I  am  very  glad  you  have  the  courage  to  say  you 
don't  know,"  said  he.  "You  are  in  just  the  right 
condition  to  learn.  Maude,"  he  continued,  "Mr.  Dow 
wishes  to  hear  your  opinion.  Please  state  what  you 
think  the  phrase  modifies,  giving  your  reason." 

"The  phrase  in  the  tree  tells  where  he  saw  some- 


VISITORS  DAY  43 

thing,"  said  Maude,  "so  it  modifies  saw,  which  is  a 
verb,  and  anything  that  modifies  a  verb  is  an  adverb. 
That's  why  I  think  in  the  tree  is  an  adverbial  phrase." 

"You're  right,  Maude,"  volunteered  Mr.  Dow. 
"All  authorities  agree  on  that.  Now  take  the  other 
sentence." 

"One  moment,"  said  the  teacher.  "I  have  a  book  in 
my  desk  that  contains  the  passage  from  which  the 
first  sentence  is  taken.  If  I  read  the  entire  sentence, 
we  may  get  additional  light." 

Having  found  the  place  in  the  book,  he  read, 
"  'Both  hunters  were  prone  upon  the  ground ;  Fitz 
James  saw  the  panther  in  the  tree,  but  the  panther 
on  the  ground  was  concealed  by  the  underbrush.'  Let 
me  ask  three  questions  for  you  to  think  about.  You 
may  give  me  your  answers  tomorrow.  I  have  my 
opinion  as  to  what  in  the  tree  modifies,  but  I  will  re- 
serve it  until  tomorrow  because  I  wish  you  to  decide 
according  to  the  meaning  as  you  understand  it.without 
being  influenced  by  me.  Now  for  the  three  questions : 

"What  does  on  the  ground  modify? 

"Do  the  two  phrases  modify  the  same  kind  or  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  words? 

"What  do  you  finally  conclude  that  in  the  tree  mod- 
ifies? 

"We  have  omy  a  few  moments  for  the  next  sent- 
ence,— just  time  for  considering  one  element.  What 
is  the  construction  of  across  the  waste?  You  may 
rise  when  your  answer  is  ready." 

In  a  short  time,  every  pupil  had  risen. 

"Isaac  Dexter,"  said  Stock-ley. 

Isaac  promptly  answered,  "Across  the  tvaste  modi- 


44  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

fies  the  verb  die,  and  it    is    therefore    an    adverbial 
phrase." 

"How  many  agree  with  Isaac?" 

Every  hand  was  raised. 

"You  are  all  wrong,"  Stockley  dared  to  say,  although 
he  had  heard  an  exclamation  of  approval  from  Mr. 
Dow  when  Isaac's  answer  was  given.  "In  this  case 
there  is  no  room  for  difference  of  opinion.  The  com- 
ma sets  off  the  first  phrase  from  the  one  we  are  dis- 
cussing. The  mark  of  punctuation  would  not  have 
been  inserted  to  separate  a  modifier  from  the  word  it 
modifies.  The  meaning  is  not  die  across  the  -waste, 
but  ride  across  the  waste.  This  is  a  case  in  which  the 
grammatical  construction  is  placed  absolutely  beyond 
doubt  by  the  use  of  a  comma.  The  phrase  across  the 
ivaste,  by  poetic  license,  is  made  to  precede  its  verb, 
instead  of  follow  it  according  to  the  usual  arrange- 
ment. This  transposition  obscures  the  meaning  at 
first  sight."  As  the  teacher  spoke,  those  pupils  who 
had  taken  the  opposite  view  nodded  their  heads,  one 
after  another ;  thus  showing  that  they  had  changed 
their  view. 

The  grammar  class  was  then  dismissed  and  the 
arithmetic  class  was  called. 

When  Stockley  turned  to  take  an  arithmetic  from 
his  desk,  he  discovered  the  county  superintendent,  Mr. 
Harkins,  who  had  quietly  entered  the  room  about  the 
time  when  the  class  began  the  analysis  of  the  two 
sentences. 

The  arithmetic  lesson  was  a  review  of  fractions. 
There  were  both  easy  and  difficult  problems  to  solve, 
and,  in  the  main,  the  pupils  acquitted  themselves  with 


VISITORS  DAY  45 

credit.  The  characteristic  features  of  their  work  were 
the  explanation  of  the  problems  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  indicate  an  acquaintance  with  the  fundamental 
truths  on  which  the  computations  were  based,  and 
the  accuracy  of  the  calculations. 

The  teacher  had  remembered,  and  his  pupils  had 
profited  by,  Superintendent  Harkms's  statement  that 
the.  right  study  of  arithmetic  tends  to  cultivate  exact- 
ness and  precision. 

The  geography  class  drew  the  "grand  divisions'" 
on.  the  blackboard :  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  the 
Americas  being  sketched  free-hand  by  different  mem- 
bers of  the  class. 

The  reading  of  the  fifth  reader  class  presented  lit- 
tle that  was  remarkable.  The  teacher  had  followed  a 
definite  plan  in  teaching  the  class  and  had  set  up  an 
ideal  toward  which  he  was  laboriously  threading  his 
way,  satisfied  if,  at  a  month's  end,  he  could  see  that 
the  pupils  read  more  distinctly  and  with  some  improve- 
ment in  expression.  He  made  no  apology  or  explana- 
tion to  the  audience,  but  called  the  spelftng  class. 

"Let  them  choose  sides  and  spell  down,"  said  Mr. 
Dow,  in  a  tone  that  was  more  than  half  dictatorial. 

"Certainly,"  said  Stockley,  suppressing  his  irrita- 
tion at  the  director's  unwarranted  assumption  of  au- 
thority, "we  sometimes  do  that ;  Allie  Harley,  will  you 
choose  on  this  side,  and  Charlie  Marfield,  will  you 
choose  on  this?" 

Allie  and  Charlie  took  their  places,  and  in  a  short 
time  all  the  pupils  in  the  room  stood  facing  one  an- 
other in  two  lines,  the  best  spellers,  of  course,  being 
near  the  "head,"  next  to  the  choosers. 


46  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

Before  beginning  the  spelling  exercises,  the  teacher 
explained  his  method  of  conducting  a  class  in  oral 
spelling. 

"I  will  not  consume  the  time,"  he  said,  "by  giving 
reasons  for  our  plan,  which  is  this: 

"I  pronounce  a  word  once,  and  only  once,  giving 
it  as  distinctly  as  possible; 

"Words  are  to  be  spelled  in  a  way  that  will  indi- 
cate their  proper  division  into  syllables ; 

"If  a  word  is  incorrectly  pronounced  or  spelled, 
I  at  once  say  wrong,  and  the  pupil  'goes  down.'  The 
word  is  never  passed  to  'next.' 

"Only  one  trial  is  given  to  a  word. 

"If  I  pronounce  a  word  missed  and  the  speller 
thinks  he  was  correct,  the  question  is  referred  to  the 
head  of  the  opposite  side,  and  his  decision  is  final. 

"Our  plan  is  a  little  different  when  all  stand  in 
one  line.  Then,  the  best  spellers  'go  up'  toward  the 
head,  and  those  who  miss  remain  in  the  class." 

The  exercises  then  began.  The  first  one  to  "go 
down"  was  Jimmy  Stone,  who  failed  on  conduit.  Jane 
Heth  was  offered  confectionery  but  preferred  confec- 
tionary, which  the  master  would  not  allow ;  Millicent 
Risley  might  have  remained  stationary  if  stationary 
had  not  had  greater  attraction  for  her ;  and  fatal  gave 
a  fateal  blow  to  the  orthographical  aspirations  of 
Charlie  Loring. 

In  seven  minutes  there  were  only  four  standing 
on  Allie  Harley's  side  and  three  on  Charlie  Marfield's. 

"Before  going  further,"  said  Stockley,  addressing 
the  survivors,  "let  us  recall  the  principle  we  have 
adopted:  'We  can  better  afford  defeat  than  loss  of 


VISITORS  DAY  47 

trust  in  ourselves  as  persons  of  honor  and  truth ;  the 
heads  of  these  sides  may  be  called  on  to  decide  for  or 
against  themselves." 

He  then  recommenced  "putting  out"  words. 
Myrrh,  vies,  vise,  and  knurly  were  correctly  spelled, 
and  the  word  supersede  came  to  Lura  Fuller. 

Lura  was  confident  and  spelled  rapidly.  "Su  per 
sede :  s  u — p  e  r — c  e  d  e."  So  the  teacher  understood 
her. 

"Wrong,"  he  announced. 

"I  think  I  was  right,"  said  Lura. 

"How  did  you  spell  the  word?" 

"Su  per  sede :  s  u-p  e  r-s  e  d  e." 

"Did  you  understand  her  so,  Charlie?"  address- 
ing the  head  of  the  opposite  side. 

"Yes,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  was  wrong,"  said  the  teacher,  "I  understood  you 
to  begin  the  last  syllable  with  c." 

There  was  no  further  error  until  Eva  Black  turned 
e  out  of  the  last  syllable  of  superintendent  filling  the 
vacancy  with  a,  and  was  pronounced  "wrong." 

"What  is  the  right  spelling  ?"  asked  Eva. 

Stockley  told  her,  and  she  tacitly  acknowledged  her 
error  by  taking  her  seat  without  protest. 

By  this  time,  interest  in  the  contest  was  intense. 
Heads  were  tilted  forward ;  necks  were  craned  toward 
the  teacher  and  toward  the  pupils  alternately;  hands 
were  concaved  and  placed  behind  ears  as  sounding 
boards;  every  pupil's  as  well  as  every  visitor's  eye 
was  eager. 

The  teacher  was  about  to  pronounce  the  next  word 
when  Mr.  Dow's  voice  was  heard. 


4l  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

"Mr.  Stockley,"  said  he,  "I  think  quite  a  number  of 
these  scholars  have  spelled  down  because  they  didn't 
understand  the  words.  Suppose  you  let  some  one  else 
pronounce  words." 

Mr.  Dow's  proposition  was  not  prompted  by  any 
ill  will  to  Stockley.  He  liked  the  schoolmaster,  not- 
withstanding the  hint  the  latter  had  given  him  to 
mind  his  own  business.  He  was  willing  and  even 
anxious  to  have  Stockley  acquit  himself  creditably, 
but  his  dominant  desire  was  to  bring  H.  L.  Dow  into 
prominence  as.  the  main  pillar  of  the  Green  Valley 
school.  He  was  very  desirous  that  the  school  should 
be  a  success  that  year  because  its  success  would  reflect 
credit  on  the  school  officer  who  was  instrumental  in 
securing  the  services  of  so  promising  a  principal  as 
the  present  one. 

"I  shall  be  much  pleased,"  was  Stockley's  reply, 
"to  accept  your  suggestion.  Will  you  not  do  me  the 
favor  of  taking  my  place  for  the  rest  of  the  time  ?" 

This  was  just  what  Mr.  Dow  had  had  in  view  in 
proposing  a  change  of  pronouncers.  He  stepped  for- 
ward and  took  the  spelling  book. 

"Va'  ga  ry,"  he  pronounced,  looking  at  Allie 
Harley. 

Allie  looked  a  little  confused  and  turned  her  eyes 
to  the  teacher,  who  only  smiled  in  return.  She  pro- 
ceeded: "Va  ga'  ry:  Va — ga — ry." 

"Wrong,"  said  Mr.  Dow.  "You  spelled  it  right 
but  your  pronunciation  was  wrong." 

"I  think  I  was  right,"  said  Allie,  timidly,  for  it  was 
the  banker  and  school  director  with  whom  she  was 


VISITORS  DAY  4Q 

taking  issue.  She  looked  across  to  Charlie  Marfield 
for  he  was,  under  the  rules,  the  one  to  decide. 

"We'll  consult  the  dictionary,"  said  Mr.  Dow. 
Finding  the  word  in  the  unabridged,  he  looked  at  it 
with  care ;  bent  nearer  and  examined  it  closely ;  turned 
a  leaf  as  if  he  expected  to  find  on  another  page  some 
way  out  of  the  trouble ;  looked  back  at  the  word ;  and 
finally  looked  up  and  asked  Allie,  "Where  did  you 
put  the  accent?" 

"On  the  second  syllable." 

"Well,"  he  slowly  admitted,  "that's  the  way  it 
seems  to  be  in  the  dictionary,  but  I  think  there's  some 
mistake  about  it,  for  I  never  heard  it  that  way.  But 
we  won't  call  it  wrong,  Allie,"  he  kindly  added. 

"Hy~  po  chon'  dri  ac,"  he  pronounced  to  Charlie 
Marfield. 

"Hyp  o  chon'  dri  ac,"  corrected  Charlie,  and 
spelled  the  word. 

While  the  next  few  words  were  being  spelled  the 
pronouncer  sauntered  carelessly  to  the  dictionary  and 
opened  it  in  an  abstracted  manner  to  the  page  contain- 
ing words  which  begin  with  Hypochon  ,  .  .  He 
soon  closed  the  dictionary  without  comment  on  what 
he  had  discovered,  and  a  quiet  smile  went  round  the 
room. 

When  he  passed  the  word  "dis  put'  a  ble"  to  Isaac 
Dexter  and  Isaac  passed  it  back  as  being  dis'  pu  ta  ble, 
one  of  the  visitors,  Harry  Dole",  tittered. 

"How  do  you  pronounce  dispute?"  Mr.  Dow 
demanded  of  Charlie. 

"Dis  pute,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then  isn't  disputable    dis  put'  a  ble ?" 


50  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

"I  think  not,"  said  Charlie. 

"/  think  it  is ;  we'll  see." 

When  Mr.  Dow  slammed  the  dictionary  shut,  after 
investigation,  there  were  three  giggles  from  as  many 
girls  (visitors)  who  formed  a  group  in  one  corner. 
The  pupils  would  have  laughed  if  they  had  not  been 
discouraged  by  repressive  glances  from  the  teacher's 
eyes.  Mr.  Dow  learned  the  pronunciation  of  sev- 
eral other  doubtful  words,  and,  on  the  whole,  took  his 
lesson  good  naturedly,  but  he  shut  the  spelling  with 
alacrity  at  the  close  of  the  period. 

In  response  to  the  principal's  invitation  he  made 
a  short  address,  in  which  he  commended  the  work  of 
the  school  as  s'hown  on  Visitors  Day,  gave  some 
good  advice  to  the  pupils,  and  referred  humorously 
to  his  own  attempt  to  play  the  schoolmaster. 

"We  are  fortunate  in  having  our  county  superin- 
tendent present,"  said  Stockley,  "and  I  hope  he  will 
favor  us  with  a  few  remarks." 

Superintendent  Harkins  came  forward  slowly,  with 
his  head  bent  as  if  thinking  how  he  should  begin. 
Having  reached  the  front  of  the  platform,  he  looked 
up.  The  oscillation  of  his  head  was  only  momentary, 
being  arrested  by  a  faint,  jerky  movement  which  gave 
it  the  quotation  tilt. 

"There  is  much,"  he  began,  "which  I  am  impelled 
to  say  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  excellent 
showing  made  by  the  pupils  of  the  Green  Valley 
school,  today, — a  showing  which  has  been  made  pos- 
sible by  the  learning,  the  ability,  and  the  skill  of  your 
teacher.  But  I  am  restrained  by  a  consideration  which 
is  aptly  expressed  by  the  incomparable  Homer  in  the 


VISITORS    DAY  51 

tenth  book  of  the  Iliad,  and  which  Alexander  Pope 
renders  in  these  lines: 

'Praise  from  a  friend  or  censure  from  a  foe, 
Are  lost  on  hearers  that  our  merits  know.' 

I  am  your  teacher's  friend;  you  all  know  his  merits; 
and  praise  from  me 'would,  consequently,  be  a  mere  su- 
perflux.  The  poet  Cowper  in  The  Task,  alludes  to 

'Those   golden  times 
And  those  Arcadian  scenes  that  Mlaro  sings.' 

These,  my  friends,  are  better  than  'golden  times'; 
they  are  times  of  learning,  of  achievement,  and  of  im- 
proved pedagogical  methods.  No  longer  is  the  youth- 
ful learner  seen: 

'Creeping,  like  snail,  unwillingly  to  school.' 
where  an  efferous  master  lies  in  wait  to  birken  him 
with  birchen  rod.  Every  cogitabund  individual  re- 
joices that  pedagogic  ferocity  is  passing  into  desue- 
tude. To  the  benevolous  people  of  our  time  the  school 
methods  of  the  sixteenth  century  would  be  cataphysical 
and  abhorrent. 

Yours,  my  young  friends,  is  a  happy  lot.  All 
things  favor  you.  Golden  opportunity  is  yours  but 
you  should  bear  in  mind  the  precept  of  which  the  elder 
Pliny  reminds  us,  that  opportunities  lost  can  never  be 
regained.  Let  me,  in  conclusion,  commend  to  you 
a  precept  found  in  Samuel  Johnson's  ode  on  Winter: 
'Catch,  then,  oh  catch  the  transient  hour; 

Improve  each  moment  as  it  flies! 
Life's  a  soft  summer,  man  a  flower; 
He  dies — alas!  how  soon  he  dies.'" 
He  took  his  seat,  and  the  teacher,  after  express- 
ing his  hope  that  another  Visitors  '  Day  would  show 
improvement  in  the  school,  dismissed  the  pupils  and 
the  visitors  dispersed. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  STOKE  QUARRY 

Plots  have  I  laid,  inductions   dangerous. — Shakespeare. 

When  Arthur  Blazer  appeared  on  the  main  street 
of  Green  Valley  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
of  the  day  following  his  ejection  from  the  schoolroom, 
he  found  himself  running  a  gauntlet  of  derisive  smiles 
and  bantering  jokes. 

"Hullo,  Arthur,"  called  out  Harry  Dole  from  tha 
doorway  of  John  McMillan's  hardware  store.  "Ain't 
ye  a  little  late  for  school?  Ef  ye  hurry  along,  p'r'aps 
ye'll  git  there'n  time  fur  the  g'ogerfy  class, — he, 
he,  he!" 

The  bystanders  joined  in  the  laugh. 

"You  shut  up!"  growled  Arthur  as  he  passed  on 
in  front  of  Dan  Loring's  grocery.  Here  he  encount- 
ered another  group  of  which  Garry  Leroy  was  the 
spokesman. 

"Say,  Art,"  laughed  Garry,  "bound  Africa  for  us. 
I  understand  you  bounded  good  and  strong,  yester- 
day, when  the  schoolmaster  had  hold  of  your  coat 
collar!" 

A  loud  guffaw  from  the  crowd  greeted  Garry  s 
witticism,  and  Arthur  hurried  along  only  to  encounter 
Hank  Medart,  the  burly  proprietor  of  "Medart's  Sa- 
loon." 

"You  fellers  let  Art  alone,"  shouted  Medart. 
"The  perfesser  gin  it  to  ?im  plenty  'thout  yen  pickin' 


THE  STONE  QUARRY  53 

on  'im.  It's  a  darn  shame  fer  a  great  hulkln'  hunderd 
pound  ruffin  like  Stockley  to  jump  onto  a  puny  little 
hunderd  'nd  eighty  pound  boy  like  you  be!  Say, 
y'orter  git  yer  sister  to  go'n  pound  th'  yeverlastin' 
gizzard  out  'f  'im!" 

"You  fellers  can  all  go  to ,"  snapped  the  bad- 
gered boy,  now  thoroly  enraged  and  overwhelmed 
with  mortification.  He  lumbered  around  the  corner 
at  a  quickened  gait  and  sought  a  less  frequented 
street. 

His  life  wfas  a  burden  to  him  that  day.  He  was 
kept  continually  dodging  across  the  street  and  behind 
buildings  to  avoid  meeting  persons  who  would  be  sure 
to  "guy"  him.  Even  grave  citizens  appeared  to  look 
sideways  at  him  with  an  amused  smile  as  they  passed 
him.  Ladies  glanced  at  him  furtively,  and  his  sen- 
sitive ear  caught  fragments  of  their  audible  whisper- 
ings: 

" threw  him  out " 

" Stockley " 

" geography  class " 

" served  him  right " 

When  he  went  home  to  his  dinner  at  noon,  he  was 
surly  and  irritable.  In  the  afternoon  he  remained 
about  the  house,  dreading  ridicule  if  he  should  ven- 
ture upon  the  street.  His  solitude  was  as  much  of  a 
strain  upon  him  as  the  jeering  and  deris'on  of  the 
streets.  He  resisted  all  attempts  of  his  parents  and 
brothers  to  draw  him  into  conversation  on  the  subject 
of  what  he  regarded  as  an  ignominious  defeat.  He 
had  been  the  school  bully ;  he  was  now  a  butt  of  scof- 
fing to  the  little  boys  and  girls.  He  had  been  cock 


54  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

of  the  walk;  he  was  now  a  plucked  and  bedraggled 
fowl. 

He  went  to  the  cow  barn  and  climbed  to  the  hay 
loft  where  he  could  be  alone.  As  he  brooded  over  his 
disgrace,  a  feeling  of  fierce  resentment  took  possession 
of  him.  "Who  done  this?"  he  muttered  without  ar- 
ticulating the  words,  "who  do  I  owe  for  this?"  As 
the  questions  took  form  in  his  mind,  his  wrath  gather- 
ed force.  He  half  rose  from  his  bed  on  the  hay 
and  shook  his  fist  in  the  direction  of  the  schoolhouse. 

"You,  by !  you !  you  f  you !  and  by I'll  git  even 

with  you!"  He  subsided  upon  the  hay  and  lost  him- 
self in  as  deep  thought  as  was  possible  in  the  turbid 
condition  of  his  uncultivated  brain.  In  half  an  hour 
he  rose  with  a  more  settled  look  in  his  face.  When 
he  appeared  at  the  supper  table  he  seemed  almost 
cheerful  and  took  his  accustomed  share  in  the  family 
conversation. 

The  next  morning  he  announced  to  his  father  his 
intention  of  "looking  for  a  job,"  for  he  wai,  not  lazy, 
and  work  was  vastly  more  attractive  to  him  than 
idling  about  home  or  the  village.  In  three  days  he  had 
secured  work  as  a  section  hand  on  the  railroad.  Every 
day  thereaftei  ht  accompanied  the  section  boss  and 
other  hands  with  their  hand  car  on  their  working 
and  inspection  trips  over  the  section,  often  taking  his 
noon  luncheon  with  him  from  home. 

About  a  week  after  his  work  on  the  railroad  began, 
the  section  crew  lunched  at  a  stone  quarry  to  which 
a  spur  track  had  been  built  from  the  main  line.  This 
quarry  was  situated  about  two  miles  from  the  village. 
After  finishing  his  luncheon,  Arthur  strolled  about 


THE  STONE  QUARRY  55 

the  quarry,  looking  idly  at  the  derricks,  the  piles  of 
rock,  the  heaps  of  broken  stone,  and  the  various  ob- 
jects connected  with  quarrying  which  appealed  to  his 
curiosity.  A  row  of  vertical  holes  sunk  in  a  shelf  of 
rock  arrested  his  attention. 

"What's  them  holes  for?"  he  asked  of  a  quarry- 
man. 

"They're  holes  for  blasting." 

"How  d'ye  blast  with  them  holes?" 

"We  put  blasting  powder  into  them,  then  fill  up  the 
hole  with  sand  and  clay,  and  then  touch  it  off." 

"How  can  ye  touch  off  the  powder  when  it's  all 
covered  up  with  sand  'n'  clay?" 

"Why,  we  use  a  fuse." 

"What's  a  fuse?" 

"See  here!"  said  the  quarryman,  "you're  firing 
questions  at  me  like  I  was  a  witness  in  a  'salt  'n'  bat- 
tery trial.  What  do  you  want  to  know  so  much  for?" 

"O,  nothin',"  replied  Arthur,  "I  was  kind  o' 
curis,  that's  all."  He  started  to  Walk  away,  but 
turned  back. 

"Say,"  he  began  again,  "that  blastin'  powder  must 
be  allfired  strong  to  break  off  them  big  rocks." 

"Yes,  it's  pretty  strong." 

Arthur  again  walked  slowly  away  for  he  saw  the 
other  section  men  placing  their  lunch  pails  on  the 
hand  car.  The  quarrymen  had  recommenced  drilling 
the  holes  that  had  excited  the  young  man's  curiosity 
and  he  turned  several  times  to  watch  their  work.  All 
that  afternoon  he  seemed  abstracted.  In  every  inter- 
val of  work  he  fell  into  a  brown  study.  Two  or  three 
times  when  all  the  men  were  expected  to  lift  or  pull 


56  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

together,  the  section  boss  had  to  speak  sharply  to 
bring  him  back  from  his  woolgathering. 

"Say,  look  here,"  said  the  boss  at  last,  "what's  the 
matter  of  ye  ?  Be  ye  sick  or  anythin'  ?" 

"No,  I  ain't  sick ;  I  was  jest  thinkin'  what  if  Num- 
ber 3  should  go  thru  that  bridge  over  Lumber  Crick." 

He  roused  himself  and  became  more  attentive  to 
his  work  but  his  companions  noticed  that  his  eyes 
had  a  far-away  look  and  that  he  several  times  half 
closed  them  and  nodded  his  head  as  if  he  had  reaahed 
some  conclusion. 

The  next  day  the  section  crew  was  aga:n  at  the 
quarry.  This  time,  Arthur  sought  out  the  foreman 
and  asked  for  a  job.  A  laborer  was  needed  to  assist 
in  loading  cars  with  stone.  The  foreman  was  pleased 
with  the  young  man's  muscular  build  and  arranged 
with  him  to  begin  work  as  soon  as  he  could  get  his 
"time"  from  the  railroad.  In  two  days,  Arthur  Blazer 
had  developed  out  of  the  section  hand  and  into  the 
quarryman  stage  of  existence.  He  generally  walked 
to  his  work  in  the  morning,  but  he  sometimes  caught 
a  ride  on  the  engine  that  ran  out  to  do  switching  at 
the  quarry.  He  was  little  given  to  conversation  with 
the  other  laborers  but  he  did  not  withdraw  himself 
from  them  at  lunch  time.  While  munching  his  corned 
beef  and  bread,  his  eye  would  sometimes  run  over  the 
scraps  of  paper  his  luncheon  was  wrapped  in,  resting 
on  accounts  of  accidents  and  crimes.  One  day  he  read 
about  the  wreck  of  the  ocean  steamer  Bristol  and  the 
loss  of  eighty-four  passengers.  Another  time  he  be- 
came interested  in  the  escape  of  a  murderer  from  Min- 
neapolis, where  the  crime  of  which  the  fugitive  was 


THE  STONE  QUARRY  57 

accused  had  been  committed, — his  special  interest  be- 
ing due  to  the  fact  that  the  fugitive  had  thick,  red 
hair,  like  himself,  that  his  size  and  build  were  like 
his  own,  and  that  reports  showed  him  to  be  heading 
for  the  heavily  wooded  swamp  that  bordered  Run 
River,  not  far  from  Green  Valley.  The  pursuit,  cap- 
ture, and  hanging  of  two  notorious  horse-thieves  by  a 
posse  of  Wyoming  cowboys  was  the  literary  delicacy 
on  which  he  feasted  the  next  day.  One  of  his  co-labor- 
ers ventured  once  to  hint  remotely  at  Blazer's  trouble 
in  school,  but  the  danger  signal  in  the  ex-bully's  eyes 
checked  him,  and  the  experiment  was  never  repeated. 
Notwithstanding  the  aversion  to  study  which  Ar- 
thur had  always  exhibited  in  school,  he  now  became 
a  diligent  student  of  everything  pertaining  to  his  new 
line  of  industry,  and  particularly  of  the  process  of  blast- 
ing. Without  apparent  eagerness  to  learn  about  it, 
he  asked  many  questions  from  time  to  time  and  in  this 
way  he  laid  up  a  store  of  information  regarding  drills 
and  drilling,  kinds  of  powder  used,  the  adjustment  of 
time  in  the  use  of  time  fuses,  etc.  The  foreman 
praised  him  moderately  for  his  faithful  work  and 
advised  him  to  learn  the  trade  of  quarrying.  Blazer 
received  the  praise  stolidly,  making  little  reply.  He 
seldom  mentioned  his  work  at  home.  He  had  become 
an  habitual  smoker  but  he  had  never  been  a  frequenter 
of  saloons.  His  father  noted  with  satisfaction  Ar- 
thur's steady  devotion  to  his  work,  and  a  conversation 
with  the  foreman  of  the  quarry  led  him  to  believe  that 
his  son  had  found  an  employment  that,  should  it  prove 
to  be  permanent,  would  result  in  industrious  habits 
and  a  reputable  life. 


58  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

One  evening  when  Arthur  left  the  house  after 
supper — it  was  only  after  dark  that  he  now  ventured 
upon  the  street — he  asked  his  mother  to  loan  him  her 
pocket  Bible.  She  gladly  let  him  take  the  book  and 
ventured  to  express  the  hope  that  he  would  read  it 
carefully  and  that  it  would  be  a  means  of  doing  him 
good.  The  boy  made  no  reply,  but  slipped  the  book 
into  his  pocket  and  went  out.  He  soon  met  James 
Wakely. 

"Hello,  Jim,"  said  Arthur. 

"Hello,  Art." 

"Say,  Jim,  I  want  to  talk  with  ye." 

"All  right,"  replied  Jim.  He  went  with  Arthur 
around  a  corner  out  of  the  light  of  the  stores  and 
saloons.  A  walk  of  two  blocks  brought  them  to  the 
river  bank,  remote  from  any  building.  Neither  boy 
had  spoken  during  the  walk,  for  Arthur  had  become 
habitually  taciturn,  and  James  felt,  in  the  presence  of 
his  stronger  companion,  a  certain  timidity  which  de- 
terred him  from  taking  the  lead  in  conversation. 
When  they  were  seated  on  a  boulder  by  the  river,  Ar- 
thur spoke,  after  looking  about  carefully  to  assure 
himself  that  they  were  quite  alone. 

"How  ye  gittin'  along  in  school  now  days?" 

"Pretty  well,— why?" 

"What  made  ye  go  back  on  me  that  day?"  asked 
Arthur,  ignoring  Jim's  question. 

"Why,  Art,"  whined  James,  "I  didn't  have  any 
chance.  It  wouldn't  been  any  use  for  me  to  light  on 
him  after  you'd  left  the  room."  James  carefully 
avoided  any  hint  that  Arthur  had  been  thrown  out. 

"All  right ;  I  ain't  kickin'.    I  s'pose  yer  boss  makes 


THE  STONE  QUARRY  59 

ye  stand  'round  pretty  lively,  don't  he?  You  conic 
when  he  whistles  'n'  jump  when  he  hollers?" 

"No,  I  don't;  I  do  just  as  I  please;  I'm  not  his 
nigger." 

"Ye're  gittin'  to  like  'im  first  rate,  ain't  ye?  To 
hear  Clint  talk"  (Clinton  was  a  younger  brother  of 
Arthur's,  who  remained  in  school.)  "ye'd  think  all 
the  girls  was  in  love  with  'im  'nd  all  the  boys  was 
ready  to  black  'is  boots." 

James  had  really  conceived  a  liking  for  his  teacher 
but  he  lacked  courage  to  acknowledge  it  in  the  face  of 
Arthur's  taunts.  Moreover,  Arthur's  bold  nature 
dominated  the  weaker  one  and  James  now  began  to 
think  he  had  been  too  compliant  in  yielding  to  the 
spirit  of  good  order  which  pervaded  Mr.  Stockley's 
schoolroom.  He  therefore  spoke  no  word  of  defense 
for  his  teacher  in  reply  to  Arthur's  sneers. 

"Now  you  just  look  here,  Mr.  James  Wakely," 
said  Arthur  with  energy,  turning  towards  James  and 
emphasizing  his  words  by  vicious  blows  of  his  right 
fist  upon  his  left  palm,  "ef  you're  yer  mamma's  pet 
darlin'  little  Sunday  School  scholar,  and  don't  dare  to 
say  anythin'  above  a  whisper  fer  fear  Stockley'll  hear 
of  it  'n'  give  ye  a  lickin',  why  then  that's  all  I've  got  to 
say  to  you,  Mr.  Wakely."  He  started  as  if  to  rise. 

"Hold  on,  Art,"  James  hastened  to  say;  "what  is 
it  you  want,  anyway?" 

"I  wont  t'know,  fust  off,  ef  you're  a  goin'  to  go 
and  blab  to  anybody  'bout  our  talkin'  together." 

"No,  I  ain't." 

"Now,  I  wan'  t'know  whether  ye've  got  the  spent 
of  a  baby  rabbit,  when  a  stinkin'  little  dude  jumps  on 


60  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

ye  'n  tries  to  skin  ye  'live!" 

"Of  course  I  have,"  answered  James,  straightening 
himself  up  and  trying  to  look  valiant.  His  answer 
was  very  nearly  true. 

"D'ye  mean  what  ye  say,  or  be  ye  goin'  to  play  the 
baby  act  when  that  teacher  o'  yourn  begins  to  talk  soft 
to  ye?" 

"Why,  of  course  I  mean  just  what  I  say;  I'm  not 
a  blabber." 

"Ef  ye  mean  business  ye  jes'  's  soon  take  an  oath 
not  to  tell  anythin'  I  say  to  ye.  Now,  what  I  want  to 
know  is,  be — you — GAME?" 

This  was  proposing  a  step  a  little  beyond  what 
James  was  really  willing  to  take,  but  he  could  hardly 
refuse  to  back  up  what  he  had  so  emphatically  as- 
serted. He  therefore  signified  his  willingness  to  bind 
himself  by  an  oath,  not  to  reveal  anything  Arthur 
might  communicate  to  him. 

"Stand  up!"  commanded  Arthur. 

James  stood  up. 

"Take  off  yer  hat!" 

James  removed  his  hat. 

"Raise  up  yer  right  hand!" 

James  obeyed. 

"Drop  yer  hat  'n  take  holt  o'  this  bible  with  yer 
left  hand !" 

James  complied,  after  hesitating  a  moment  and 
glancing  at  Arthur's  stern  countenance. 

"Say  T".    It  was  done. 

"Repeat  your  full  name."  James  repeated  it  in  a 
low  tone,  and  with  a  slight  quaver  in  his  voice. 


THE  STONE  QUARRY  6l 

"Now,  say  these  words  after  me  and  don't  you 
skip  a  single  word." 

Arthur  then  administered  to  the  trembling  boy  be- 
fore him  an  oath  modeled  on  a  form  such  as  he  had 
heard  was  employed  in  some  secret  society,  but  con- 
taining several  imprecations  of  his  own  invention  and 
sundry  allusions  to  coffins,  graves,  torn  livers  and 
bloody  daggers  which  no  freemason  or  odd  fellow 
had  ever  dreamed  of.  When  James  had  pronounced 
the  final  imprecation  calling  down  upon  himself  awful 
penalties  if  he  should  ever  tell  about  his  meetings 
with  Arthur,  he  was  shaking  as  if  in  an  ague  fit  and  it 
was  with  bloodless  lips  that  he  obeyed  Arthur's  sol- 
emn command,  "James  Morgan  Wakely,  kiss  the 
holy  bible !" 

"Now,  Jim,"  said  Arthur  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
ceremony,  "I  ain't  got  nothin'  more  to  say  to  ye  to- 
night. I'll  let  ye  know  when  I  want  ye  again,  and 
don't  you  fergit  that  I  have  a  way  of  knowin'  ef  ye 
ever  break  yer  oath." 

James  slept  very  little  that  night,  and  both  his 
teacher  and  his  parents  noticed  frequently  thereafter 
that  an  absent-minded  look  would  come  over  him  in 
the  midst  of  his  study,  his  play,  and  his  work. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  MODERN  INQUISITION 

We  will  answer  all  things  faithfully. — Shakespeare. 

It  would  not  have  been  difficult  for  Rutledge  Stock- 
ley  to  establish  himself  as  a  social  lion  in  Green  Valley. 
He  was  intelligent  and  courteous,  a  good  singer  and  a 
good  story-teller.  He  possessed  an  art  that  is  exceed- 
ingly rare  in  both  polite  and  impolite  society, — the  art 
of  listening,  and  the  practice  of  this  art  endeared  him  to 
long-winded  old  men  and  garrulous  old  ladies.  He 
never,  in  society,  spoke  in  deprecatory  terms  of  anyone, 
nor  did  he  make  the  affairs  of  the  school  a  topic  of 
common  conversation  in  parlors,  in  stores,  or  on  the 
street.  He  attended  church  sociables  and  other  social 
functions,  and  even  went  occasionally  to  a  dancing 
party  held  at  G.  A.  R.  Hall. 

He  frequently  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dow  at  social 
gatherings,  and  as  they  were  both  singers  his  own  mu- 
sical talent  tended  to  a  closer  relationship  with  them 
than  would  have  existed  were  it  not  that  the  subtle  cen- 
tripetence  of  "Music's  golden  tongue"  drew  them  to- 
gether. 

One  evening  when  Mr.  Dow  was  reading  his  paper 
in  the  sitting  room,  his  wife  addressed  him  on  a  sub- 
ject she  had  been  revolving  in  her  mind  for  several 
days. 

"Dow,"  she  said.  She  never  called  him  Hiram,  or 
Mr.  Dow.  Her  husband  looked  up. 

"I've  been  thinking  about  having  Stockley  come  and 


A    MODERN    INQUISITION  63 

live  with  us."  Mrs.  Dow  never  took  the  trouble  to  con- 
struct conversational  approaches  to  any  subject  she 
wished  to  introduce  to  her  husband's  attention.  She  al- 
ways came  directly  to  the  point,  which  she  expected  to 
carry  and  which  she  never  failed  to  carry,  without  the 
trouble  and  delay  of  a  regular  siege.  She  was  willing 
to  consult  him  on  domestic  questions, — so  much  she 
conceded  to  convention,  but  it  was  tacitly  understood 
by  both  partners  in  this  connubial  firm,  that  any  propo- 
sition advanced  by  its  petticoat  member  was  as  secure 
against  veto  as  an  act  of  the  British  House  of  Com- 
mons. It  was  in  harmony  with  Mrs.  Dow's  nature  to 
speak  of  Iwving  instead  of  asking  the  teacher  to  be- 
come an  inmate  of  her  house,  and  she  could  never  have 
plebeianized  her  household  by  having  any  one  board 
there. 

"It  seems  to  me,  Mary,"  replied  Mr.  Dow,  "that  we 
are  quite  comfortable  as  we  are.  Gran'ma  and  Winnie 
are  good  company,  and  a  family  of  four  is  large  enougn 
for  comfort." 

"Yes,"  assenjted  Mrs.  Dow,  "mother  and  Win  are 
all  right,  and  it  isn't  because  I'm  dying  for  Stockley's 
society  that  I  want  him  to  come.  I  want  him  here  on 
your  account." 

"On  my  account!  I  don't  see  how  his  being  here 
would  do  me  any  good." 

"Dow,"  said- his  wife,  "you  ought  to  be  the  real  di- 
rector on  that  school  board, — now  you're  only  called 
director.  You  ought  to  be  the  director  of  the  school 
You  know  very  well  that  you're  not.  Stockley  sets 
himself  uf  to  be  director,  and  he  takes  good  care  to  lee 
everyone  know  it.  See  how  he  just  sat  down  ^n  you  on 


64  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

that  'Visitors  Day.'  You  couldn't  say  A  thing  without 
his  snubbing  you,  just  to  let  everybody  know  that  he 
couldn't  be  bossed  by  you." 

"But  I  don't  see,  Mary,  how  all  that  has  anything  to 
do  with  Mr.  Stockley's  coming  here  to  board." 

"It  has  just  this  to  do  with  it,"  explained  Mrs.  Dow : 
"if  Stockley  comes  here  you'll  have  more  chances  to 
talk  with  him  and  your  talks  will  come  c.bout  more 
naturally.  You  won't  seem  to  be  trying  to  get  control 
over  him  as  you  would  if  you  had  to  look  him  up  at 
the  hotel  or  ask  him  into  the  back  office  at  the  bank 
every  time  you  wan,t  to  see  him.  Besides,  if  he  was 
here,  we  would  treat  him  particularly  well,  and  he 
would  feel  under  obligations  to  do  as  you  ask  him  to. 
He  would  think  twice  before  he  tried  to  put  you  down 
in  public  as  he  did  at  the  schoolhouse  the  other  day." 

Mr.  Dow  laughed  as  he  recalled  his  part  in  the  events 
of  Visitors  Day.  •  "Mr.  Stockley,"  he  said,  "was  en- 
tirely within  his  rights,  in  conducting  his  own  classes 
in  his  own  manner,  and  I  don't  feel  hard  toward  him 
for  letting  me  know  my  place.  He  was  very  gentle- 
manly about  it.  Still,  there  is  something  in  your  sug- 
gestion. Stockley  is  young ;  he  has  had  very  little  expe- 
rience; and  he  needs  advice  from  some  level-headed 
person." 

"Can't  you  speak  to  Stockley  some  time  tomorrow 
about  it?"  asked  Mrs.  Dow. 

"I  think  so.    When  do  you  want  him  to  come  ?" 
''He  can  come  any  time, — tomorrow,  if  he  wants  to.  ' 
"Very  well,  I'll  speak  to  him  tomorrow." 
The  next  day  Mr.  Dow  introduced  the  subject  to 
the  teacher,  suggesting  that  altho  the  Excelsior  Hotel 


A    MODERN    INQUISITION  6$ 

was  an  excellent  house,  the  surroundings  could  hardly 
be  as  agreeable  as  those  of  a  private  family.  His 
own  home,  he  added,  was  pleasantly  situated  and  quiet, 
and  in  view  of  Stockley's  uncongenial  associations  at  the 
hotel,  it  would  give  Mrs.  Dow  and  himself  pleasure  tj 
have  him  make  his  home  with  them.  He  named  a  price 
for  board,  which,  while  a  little  less  than  he  had  been 
paying  at  the  hotel,  was  high  enough  to  make  Stockley 
feel  that  he  would  not  be  a  charity  boarder. 

Stockley  had  been  by  no  means  dissatisfied  with  the 
hotel,  but  the  plan  of  living  in  a  family  of  a  leading1 
citizen  was  attractive  to  him,  and  before  long  he  was 
installed  in  the  banker's  home. 

Mrs.  Dow  had  not  mentioned  to  her  husband  the 
principal  consideration  that  led  to  her  desire  to  have 
the  principal  in  her  family.  She  cared  for  the  distinc- 
tion that  would  come  from  having  her  husband  known 
as  prominent  or  supreme  in  local  political  and  educa- 
tional affairs,  but  she  cared  vastly  more  for  recognition 
of  herself  as  the  leader  of  the  highest  and  most  exclus- 
ive social  set  in  the  community.  Wealth  was  one  qual- 
ification, but  not  the  only  one  for  membership  in  this 
set.  Stockley's  intellectual  acumen  and  his  possession  of 
what  Green  Valley  society  called  "culture"  had  opened 
the  doors  of  the  "best  society"  to  him.  Mary  Dow  be- 
lieved that  if  the  new  social  lion  would  submit  to  wear- 
ing her  collar  and  allow  himself  to  be  led  about  by  hei 
chain,  the  end  of  her  own  ambition  would,  thereby,  be 
more  certainlv  attainable. 

Since    Visitors    Day    some   rumors    had    reached 
Stockley's  ears  concerning  dissatisfaction  on  the  part 


66  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

of  patrons  of  the  school.  One  afternoon  he  called  at 
the  bank  to  tell  Mr.  Dow  that  the  school  needed  a  sup- 
ply of  crayon.  He  found  the  banker  alone  in  his  pri- 
vate office.  After  attending  to  the  matter  of  business, 
he  determined  that  he  would  ascertain  from  the  direc- 
tor, if  possible,  what  foundation  there  was  for  the  ru- 
mors he  had  heard. 

"Mr.  Dow,"  he  said,  "I  have  heard  remarks  here 
and  there,  that  seem  to  indicate  dissatisfaction  with  the 
school.  I  have  made  little  or  no  reply  to  those  who 
have  repeated  these  things  to  me,  but  I  come  to  you  as 
a  friend,  hoping  that  if  you  know  of  anything  wrong 
you  will  tell  me  frankly,  so  that  I  may  apply  the  rem- 
edy." 

"I'm  not  sorry  you  came  to  me,"  replied  Mr.  Dow, 
"altho  I  believe  that  the  best  way  to  treat  false 
reports  about  the  school  or  stories  which  show  ignor- 
ance of  your  methods  and  aims  is  to  pay  no  attention 
to  them  until  they  are  brought  to  your  notice  by  some 
person  of  standing  in  the  community." 

"If  I  wait  for  that,"  said  Stockley,  "I  may  never 
have  an  opportunity  to  set  myself  right." 

"Never  fear ;  keep  your  own  counsel ;  examine  your 
own  record  honestly,  as  if  you  were  investigating  the 
conduct  of  another  person;  if  you  find  your  ship  has 
sprung  a  leak,  run  it  into  dry  dock  and  repair  it.  Don't 
make  the  mistake  of  taking  offense  when  you  are  crit- 
icised. If  I  were  /talking  to  one  of  the  village  censors, 
I  would  caution  him  to  be  absolutely  certain  of  his  facts 
before  saying  anything,  and  then  to  say  very  little. 
But  we  are  looking  at  your  side  now.  Ever}r  active 
member  of  any  community  is  exposed  to  criticism. 


A    MODERN    INQUISITION'  6? 

However  reluctant  one  may  "be,  through  self-conceit,  to 
admit  it,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true,  that  when  one's  acts 
are  called  in  question,  there  is  as  great  probability  of 
his  being  wrong,  as  there  is  of  his  critic's  being  in  error. 
Perhaps  it  is  better  to  say  that  whenever  a  criticism  is 
made,  there  is  ground  for  it,  though  the  ground  may 
be  untenable.  It  is  wise  for  the  object  of  the  criticism 
to  examine  his  position  and  see  whether  he  is,  himself, 
on  tenable  ground.  If  his  ground  is  not  tenable,  he 
should  shift  his  position.  When  any  fair-minded  per- 
son tells  you  of  anything  for  which  you  are  censured, 
tell  him  the  absolute  truth;  explain,  if  necessary,  the 
reasons  for  your  action.  The  truth  will  then  begin  to 
spread  just  as  the  error  did,  if,  indeed,  there  was  an 
error.  Truth  is  a  ferret ;  it  drives  lies  out  of  their  holes 
into  the  light,  and  the  light  kills  them." 

"I  can  see  the  force  of  what  you  say,"  said  Stock- 
ley,  "and  if  my  management  of  the  school  is  open  to 
criticism — as  it  must  be  when  I  have  had  so  little  exp-j- 
rience — I  want  to  set  it  right.  Have  you  heard  any 
fault  found?" 

"Yes;  several  people  think  you  ought  not  to  have 
left  that  question  undecided  in  the  grammar  class  on 
Visitors  Day,  and  some  of  them  profess  to  think  you 
left  it  over  so  that  you  could  look  it  up  yourself  before 
committing  yourself  and  running  the  risk  of  exposing 
your  ignorance." 

Stockley's  face  flushed.  "The  stupid  fools — "  wero 
the  words  which  formed  themselves  in  hir  mind,  but, 
in  the  exercise  of  the  disposition  he  had  cultivated  to 
look  at  both  sides,  he  stifled  his  first  thought  and,  aftcr 
a  moment's  hesitation,  said  something  quite  different. 


68  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

"I  can  easily  see,"  he  said,  "how  that  inference  might 
fairly  be  made.  The  truth  is,  however,  that  there  was 
absolutely  no  question  in  my  mind  as  to  the  propjf 
disposition  of  the  phrase  under  discussion.  There  was 
no  room  for  opinion,  because  opinion  is  less  than  knowl  • 
edge,  and  I  knew.  Now,  why  didn't  I  tell  the  pupils 
what  I  knew,  as  they  were  there  to  learn?  It  was  simp  - 
ly  because  a  mere  knowledge  of  the  fact  we  were 
searching  for  would  have  been  utterly  worthless  to 
them.  To  know,  on  the  authority  of  a  teacher,  that 
the  phrase  in  the  tree  modifies  a  certain  element  in  a 
sentence  would  not  fit  the  pupils  to  be  better  citizens  or 
housewives.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  to  form  *he  habit 
of  analyzing  the  language  in  which  other  people  ex- 
press their  thoughts  has,  it  seems  to  me,  a  very  im- 
portant bearing  on  their  value  as  citizens.  Is  it  not 
because  of  inability  to  perform  such  analysis  that  the 
ignorant  are  so  often  made  the  dupes  of  the  smooth- 
tongued? I  will  go  still  further,  Mr.  Dow,  and  ask 
whether  to  tell  a  child  a  fact  connected  with  his  studies 
which  he  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  discover  for 
himself  is  not  positively  injurious  to  him.  Does  it  not 
encourage  his  tendency  to  rely  on  other  people  to  fon-i 
his  opinions  for  him — a  tendency  which,  if  unchecked, 
must  result  in  failure  to  our  experiment  of  government 
by  the  people  ?  By  thinking  out  independently  the  rela- 
tion in  question,  the  pupils  placed  themselves  in  the  line 
of  thought  development  which  would  be  of  service  to 
them,  it  seemed  to  me,  in  business,  in  society,  in  every 
activity  of  life." 

Mr.  Dow  smiled.    "Your  explanation  would  hardly 
be  intelligible,"  he  said,  "to  the  person  who  reported  to 


A    MODERN    INQUISITION  69 

me  what  people  are  saying  on  this  point,  but  I  think- 
most  intelligent  people  would  understand." 

"What  other  criticism  have  you  heard?"  asked 
Stockley. 

"Well,  you  know  Arthur  Wildon,  who  runs  the 
lumber  yard  ?" 

"Yes,  I  have  met  him." 

"Well,  he  thinks  that  you  have  the  boys  go  too 
much  into  the  explanation  of  their  examples  in  arith- 
metic. He  doesn't  see  the  use  of  having  them  give  or 
even  trying  to  have  them  understand  the  reason  for 
everything  they  do.  They  ought  to  learn  to  reckon 
rapidly  and  without  making  mistakes.  That's  Wildon's 
notion,  and  I  don't  believe,"  added  Mr.  Dow,  "he's 
altogether  wrong." 

"Nor  do  I,"  assented  the  teacher.  "I  have  read 
that  one  very  important  use  of  arithmetic  study  is  to 
cultivate  the  power  of  rapid  and  accurate  computation, 
and  that  it  has  a  high  value  for  training  the  mind  to 
reason  from  step  to  step  in  a  series  of  dependent  prop- 
ositions, but  perhaps  I  need  to  emphasize  more  the 
other  phase  of  number  drill." 

"Seems  to  me,"  remarked  Mr.  Dow,  "that  you  show 
considerable  familiarity  with  pedagogical  principles  for 
one  who  has  never  taught  school  before.  Where  did 
you  pick  up  so  much  professional  knowledge  ?  I  think 
you  told  me  you  had  never  attended  a  normal  school  ?" 

"I'm  glad  I  do  not  appear  entirely  ignorant.  No, 
I  have  had  no  professional  training.  I  hope  to  remedy 
this  defect  if  I  remain  in  the  work.  But  I  have  alreadv 
read  a  few  professional  books, — one  on  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Teaching,  another  on  Systematic  Method- 


7O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

ology,  a  third  on  Common  School  Education,  and  still 
another  on  School  Management." 

"Do  you  try  to  follow  everything  you  find  in  these 
books  ?  Isn't  there  a  great  deal  in  them  that  is  only 
theoretical  and  has  no  practical  application?" 

"To  your  first  question  I  reply  that  I  do  not,  for 
not  everything  is  at  present  applicable  to  my  work.  As 
to  your  second  question,  it  seems  to  me  every  good  the- 
ory has  some  practical  application.  Is  not  an  excellent 
theory  sometimes  condemned  because  some  bungler  has 
misinterpreted  it  or  has  made  a  fizzle  by  trying  to  apply 
it  under  conditions  to  which  it  is  not  suited  ?  When  I 
read  books  on  teaching,  I  regard  the  principles  dis- 
cussed in  them  as  merely  suggestive,  and  I  have  al- 
ready had  opportunity  to  apply  several  of  them  in  ways 

not  mentioned  in  the  books Are  there  any  mor^ 

counts  in  the  indictment  against  me?" 

"There  certainly  are,"  Mr.  Dow  replied  with  mock 
gravity.  "I  am  told  that  certain  friends  of  the  Blazers 
are  trying  to  make  Arthur's  parents  believe  that  he  was 
unjustly  treated." 

"How  are  these  friends  succeeding?" 

"Not  brilliantly.  Mrs.  Blazer  is  a  very  religious 
and  a  very  conscientious  woman.  She  can  see  that  Ar- 
thur put  himself  in  the  wrong,  but  her  maternal  affec- 
tion naturally  disposes  her  to  take  his  part.  Mr.  Blazer 
thinks  no  teacher  ever  lived  with  half  your  wisdom  and 
sense  of  fairness.  Then,  there  are  a  few  narrow- 
minded  people  who  think  you  dress  too  well  and  that 
you  'put  on  airs !'  " 

Stockley  was  amused  at  this.  His  everyday  suit 
was  his  best  one,  and  its  ten  months  of  faithful  service 


A    MODERN    INQUISITION  71 

had  made  it  quite  shiny  and  somewhat  threadbare.  But 
he  was  one  of  the  men  we  sometimes  see  who  give  to 
cheap  and  ancient  apparel  an  appearance  of  elegance, 
and  whose  every  movement  is  suggestive  of  gentle- 
manly courtesy. 

"I  must  try  to  live  that  notion  down,"  said  he.  "Nov 
if  there  is  anything  more,  let  me  hear  it.  I  want  to 
know  the  worst." 

"There  is  just  one  more  charge  against  you,"  said 
Mr.  Dow,  with  a  suspicion  of  a  smile  lurking  about  his 
eye,  "and  I  bring  that  charge  myself." 

"  'Haste  me  to  know  it,' "  said  Stockley,  bracing 
himself,  "  'and  my  firm  nerves  shall  never  tremble.' 

"You  stated,  before  beginning  your  spelling  exer- 
cise, the  other  day,  that  you  would  not  then  consume 
time  by  giving  reasons  for  vour  olan  of  conducting  the 
exercise.  Some  of  your  rules  seemed  unfaii  to  me,  and 
I'd  like  to  hear  you  explain  them  to  me.  Why  do  you 
refuse  to  pronounce  a  woid  the  second  time  if  the  pupil 
doesn't  understand  it  ?  Why  should  the  pupil  be  made 
to  suffer  for  your  carelessness?" 

"That's  a  good  question,  Mr.  Dow,  and  I  will  try 
to  give  you  a  good  answer.  In  the  first  place,  I  do  not 
see  that  the  pupil  suffers.  If  he  does  not  understand,  I 
give  him  the  next  word  in  the  book,  and  he  has  his 
Chance  just  the  same.  Perhaps  he  ought  to  suffer,  for 
his  failure  to  understand  may  be  due  to  inattention.  1 
am  very  particular  to  pronounce  each  word  with  great 
distinctness,  and  if  I  am  conscious  of  failure  to  do  so, 
I  pronounce  it  again  without  waiting  to  see  whether 
the  pupil  understands.  Under  the  present  plan,  a  pupil 
could  feign  not  to  understand  a  difficult  word  in  hop.- 


72  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

that  the  next  one  would  be  easy.  In  the  second  place, 
this  rule  places  a  premium  on  attention  instead  of 
placing  it  upon  inattention  as  under  the  old  plan." 

"I  see  what  your  point  is,"  said  M'r.  Dow,  "but  I'*n 
not  sure  your  plan  is  best.  But  why  don't  you  give  the 
next  pupil  a  chance  to  spell  a  word  that  has  been 
missed?  Words  that  are  missed  are  likely  to  be  the 
hard  ones — the  very  ones  they  need  to  learn — but  your 
rule  throws  them  out  of  the  lesson  altogether." 

"I  admit  that  my  rule  is  defective  as  it  was  stated 
the  other  day.  In  practice  I  pronounce  the  misspelled 
words  again  before  the  end  of  the  recitation.  My  rea- 
son for  not  passing  a  misspelled  word  to  "next"  is 
that  "next"  would  have  two  trials — which  would  often 
be  two  guesses — on  the  spelling;  the  third  one  would 
have  three,  and  so  on.  For  example,  suppose  a  pupil 
spells  the  word  seize,  s  i  e  z  e.  The  next  pupil  thinks 
that  spelling  right  until  the  teacher  says  "wrong."  He 
then  guesses  at  another  spelling  which  happens  to  be 
right,  and  so  appears  to  an  advantage  that  doesn't  really 
belong  to  him.  For  a  similar  reason,  only  one  trial  is 
permitted  on  a  given  word.  A  pupil  either  knows  how 
to  spell  it  or  he  does  not.  The  second  trial  is  often  a 
mere  guess." 

"I'm  a  little  doubtful  about  these  rules,"  said  the  di- 
rector, "for  they  are,  to  say  the  least,  revolutionary; 
but  how  can  you  justify  leaving  the  question  of  whether 
a  word  is  missed  to  the  leader  of  the  opposite  side  ?  In 
doing  this  you  deliberately  place  a  pupil  or  a  side  at  the 
mercy  of  the  enemy.  Why  not  appoint  an  umpire?" 

Stockley  hesitated  before  replying,  and  when  he  fin- 
ally spoke,  his  manner  seemed  to  Mr.  Dow  somewhat 


A   MODERN    INQUISITION  73 

apologetic.    As  he  continuued,  however,  his  tone  had 
the  ring  of  confidence. 

"If  the  opposite  side  were  in  reality  'the  enemy, '  he 
replied,  "your  criticism  would  be  just.  To  appoint  an 
umpire  would  be  to  assume  that  both  leaders  are  dis- 
honest, that  they  consider  it  the  chief  end  of  the  exer- 
cise to  beat  by  any  means  which  they  can  make  seem 
right,  and  that  they  are  incapable  of  recognizing  justice 
in  anything  which  clashes  with  their  selfish  interest  for 
the  time  being.  That  is  my  pet  rule.  I  would  rather 
give  up  any  of  the  other^for,  altho  it  is  based  on  a 
theory  of  my  own,  which  will  doubtless  seem  Quixotic 
to  a  'practical'  mind,  I  have  already  tested  it  and  am 
disposed  to  believe  in  its  soundness.  My  thought  is 
this :  I  want  to  inspire  every  pupil  with  the  sentiment 
said  to  have  been  expressed  by  Henry  Clay  in  one  of 
his  speeches  on  the  compromise  measures  of  1850. 
'Sir/  he  said,  'I  would  rather  be  right  than  be  Presi- 
dent.' It  is,  to  my  mind,  of  much  more  consequence  to 
fill  these  girls  and  boys  with  a  zeal  for  truth,  honesty, 
honor,  than  to  make  them  zealous  partisans  or  good 
spellers.  I  did  not  introduce  this  part  of  the  plan  at  the 
first  or  second  'spelling-down' — they  were  not  ready  for 
it  then.  But  one  day  when  Eva  Black  and  Isaac  Dexter 
had  been  appointed  to  choose  sides,  I  proposed  this  plan, 
leaving  it  to  the  scholars  to  adopt  or  reject  it.  'The 
merit  of  the  plan/  I  explained  to  them,  'depends  on 
your  opinion  of  one  another.  If  you  think,  Isaac,  that 
Eva  would  tell  a  falsehood  for  the  sake  of  beating,  and 
if  you,  Eva,  have  that  opinion  of  Isaac,  this  plan  will 
not  do.'  This  was  a  view  they  had  never  before  taken, 
and  it  appealed  to  them.  There  is  now  growing  in 


74  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

the  school  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  fairness  and  truth- 
fulness that  extends  to  the  playground  and  into  the 
athletic  exercises.  I  don't  claim  that  all  the  scholars 
are  angels  yet,  but  they  are  progressing  in  the  direction 
of  manly  boyhood  and  womanly  girlhood." 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Dow,  cordially,  "your  ideas  are 
new  ones  here,  but  I  believe  that  you  are,  in  the  main, 
on  the  right  track  and  I  shall  be  interested  in  knowing 
what  your  methods  have  accomplished  by  spring." 

At  this  point,  a  customer  of  the  bank  appeared  in 
the  office  door  and  the  teacher  withdrew. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE 
A  few  strong  instincts  and  a  few  plain  rules. — Wordsworth. 

On  the  day  following  Stockley's  interview  with 
M'r.  Dow,  in  the  bank  parlor,  he  dropped  into  the  gro- 
cery store  to  have  a  chat  with  Dan  Loring.  Dan's 
greeting  was  decidedly  cool,  and  he  did  not  respond  as 
usual  when  the  teacher,  according  to  his  custom,  salut- 
ed him  with  a  jocose  remark.  Stockley  had  been  in  the 
grocery  frequently  and  had  felt  at  every  visit  of  late, 
as  if  Dan's  cordiality  were  gradually  cooling.  The  fact 
was  that  ever  since  Visitors  Day  Dan  had  had  a  griev- 
ance against  Stockley,  which,  at  first,  appeared  so  small 
that  he  had  been  ashamed  to  hold  it,  and  he  had  about 
succeeded  in  forgetting  it  when  a  busybody  had  put  it 
into  his  head  that  the  new  teacher  was  an  upstart  who 
bowed  down  before  the  aristocracy  of  Green  Valley  and 
held  himself  aloof  from  common  people.  Another  had 
asserted  that  the  children  of  lawyers,  doctors,  and 
wealthy  people  were  favored  in  school,  at  the  expense 
of  the  children  of  laborers,  mechanics, — "and  grocery- 
men,"  was  added  for  Dan's  benefit.  Just  before  Stock- 
ley's  call,  here  recorded,  busybody  number  two  had 
spent  a  gossipy  half-hour  in  the  grocery  and  had  taken, 
to  clinch  his  former  assertions,  the  fact  of  Stockley's 
incorporation  into  the  banker's  family.  "Ef  that  ain't 
proof  enough  for  ye,"  he  declared,  with  a  side-nod, 
"then,  by  gol,  I  dunno  what  is."  This  suggestion  com- 
pleted the  process  by  which  his  pimple  of  grievance  had 


70  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

grown  into  a  raging  carbuncle.  Stockley  determined 
to  have  it  out  with  Loring  then  and  there. 

"Are  you  sick,  Mr.  Loring?"  said  he.  Stockley  had 
not  adopted  the  familiar  style  of  addressing  grown 
men  by  their  given  names,  either  whole  or  nicked.  This 
fact,  together  with  his  custom  of  using  a  Mr.  when  ad- 
dressing a  man,  strengthened  the  popular  notion  that 
he  was  "stuck  up." 

"No,  I'm  not  sick,"  said  Loring.  He  took  a  hammer 
and  began  opening  a  barrel  of  sugar. 


"Why,  Loring,"  said  the  teacher,  "you  act  almost  as 
if  you  had  some  grudge  against  me.  What's  the  mat- 
ter?" 


A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  77 

"Oh,  nothing  very  particular,  I  guess.  You've  got 
a  lot  of  stylish  friends  now  and  it  don't  make  any  dif- 
ference to  you  what  I  think." 

"It  does  make  a  difference,  I  assure  you.  Now, 
look  here,  Mr.  Loring,  if  you  really  mean  what  your 
manner  and  words  seem  to  imply, — and  that  is  that  you 
have  some  secret  grievance  against  me  and  that  you 
don't  propose  to  allow  me  to  defend  myself  against  it  or 
even  to  know  what  it  is — if  that  is  your  position,  I  tell 
you  plainly  I  have  no  use  for  the  friendship  or  com- 
panionship of  such  a  man,  be  he  stylish  or  not  stylish. 
But  I  don't  want  the  matter  settled  that  way.  You 
were  one  of  my  first  friends  here, — at  least,  I  supposed 
you  were,  and  I  put  it  to  you  as  a  fair-minded  man, 
whether  it  is  just  to  try,  judge,  and  condemn  me  with- 
out a  hearing?" 

Loring  whirled  around  and  faced  his  visitor. 

"All  right,  professor,"  he  said,  his  voice  trembling 
with  excitement,  "if  my  Charlie  had  been  a  banker's 
son,  would  you  have  been  in  such  an  almighty  hurry 
to  mark  him  tardy  as  you  were  before  all  my  neigh- 
bors on  your  'Visitors  Day'?" 

"'Oh,  sits  the  wind  in  that  corner?'"  thought 
Stockley.  Aloud,  he  said,  "Your  question  is  a  fair 
one,  and  I'll  give  it  a  straight  answer.  You  seem  to  be 
under  two  errors,  and  I  have  enough  confidence  in  your 
sense  of  fairness  to  believe  that  you  will  correct  them 
if  I  show  you  that  they  are  errors.  Now,  in  the  first 
place,  I  was  not  in  an  'almighty  hurry'  to  mark  Charlh 
tardy.  The  roll  is  always  called  briskly,  and  I  probably 
wrote  his  number  on  the  board  as  quickly  as  I  could. 
Now,  honor  bright,  Mr.  Loring,  do  you  think  that  when 


78  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

his  number  was  reached  in  the  roll  call,  I  ought  to  have 
omitted  placing  his  number  on  the  board,  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  a  grocer's  son,  or  because  you  were  a  very 
kind  and  considerate  friend  of  mine  ?" 

"No,  I  don't,  of  course  not,  but — a — well,  it  seems 
like  as  long  as  he  came  into  the  room  about  three  sec- 
onds after  his  number  was  called  it  ought  not  to  be 
scored  up  against  him.  Qiarlie  has  laid  himself  out  not 
to  have  a  tardy  or  absent  mark.  He  thinks  the  world 
and  all  of  you,  and  it's  mainly  on  that  account  he  tries  so 
hard  to  be  on  time.  Why,  since  school  began  he  has 
left  his  meals  half  finished  and  run  all  the  way  to  school 
so  as  not  to  be  tardy.  I  care  more  for  the  way  Charlie 
feels  about  it  than  anything  else." 

"So  do  I,"  was  the  reply,  "but  for  all  that,  it  is  en- 
tirely out  of  my  power  to  alter  the  fact.  Here,  suppose 
I  should  hold  this  red-hot  poker  against  your  cheek 
three  seconds  by  my  watch,  it  would  leave  a  scar, 
wouldn't  it?  I  would  not  'score  it  up'  against  you 
that  you  had  been  burned,  but  the  scar  would  be  there, 
and  my  excusing  you  for  having  been  burned  could  not 
change  the  fact  that  you  were  burned.  Charlie  is  en- 
titled to  great  credit  for  his  punctuality,  but  I  know 
you  are  too  honest  a  mai.  to  claim  that  my  record 
should  be  falsified  to  save  Charlie'*  pride/' 

"Of  course  not,"  assented  Dan.  The  light  was 
breaking  in  upon  him,  under  Stockley's  presentation  of 
the  case. 

"Ihere  is  another  consideration,"  resumed  tbcs 
teachtr.  '  It  would  have  been  an  injustice  to  Charlie 
io  caii  him  present  under  the  circumstances." 

-  1  don't  see  it,"  said  Dan, 


A   CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  79 

"It's  like  this :  if  I  make  my  record  say  that  a  pupil 
is  present  when  he  is  absent,  or  if  I  make  it  say  that  he 
is  not  tardy  when  he  is  tardy,!  tell  a  falsehood,  and  I 
am  training  the  pupil  to  expect  that  whenever  he  gets 
into  a  tight  place,  his  friends  will  falsify  to  help  him 
out  of  it.  If  it  is  right  for  them  to  lie  him  out  of  a  dif- 
ficulty it  is  right  for  him  to  lie  out  of  it.  Honestly,  Mr. 
Loring,  wouldn't  both  you  and  Charlie  prefer  to  have 
him  stand  on  a  true  record — the  one  he  actually  makes, 
rather  than  on  one  I  have  falsified  for  him?" 

"To  be  sure,  I  would.  I  don't  want  anything  that 
isn't  right,  and  Charlie  don't  either." 

"There  was  something  in  your  first  question  that  I 
will  answer  if  you  wish  me  to.  It  has  absolutely  no 
bearing  on  my  treatment  of  Charlie,  and  I  don't  like  to 
think  it  necessary  for  me  to  tell  you  whether,  if  Char- 
lie had  been  a  banker's  son — " 

"Hold  on!  hold  on!"  exclaimed  Dan,  grinning  and 
throwing  up  his  hands.  "Don't  shoot !  I  surrender.  I 
hope  the  Lord'll  forgive  me  for  making  such  a  bloom- 
ing idiot  of  myself.  If  you'll  take  me  back  on  the  old 
terms  we'll  call  off  the  strike.  By  jolly,  Stockley,  if 
you  teach  the  boys  and  girls  half  as  well  as  you've 
taught  me  this  afternoon,  you're  doing  a  mighty  good 
job,  and  I'll  fight  for  you  till  the  sun  freezes  solid." 

The  two  men  clasped  hands.  They  were  both  in 
good  humor ;  their  relations  now  were  in  statu  quo  ante 
bellum;  and  that  afternoon  marked  the  beginning  of  a 
warmer  friendship  based  on  mutual  respect, — a  friend- 
ship which  came  to  Stockley's  aid  when,  later  in  the 
year,  he  found  himself  in  a  "peck  of  troubles". 

While  Stockley's  gallant  bark  sailed  on,  wafted  by 


8O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

the  favoring  gales  of  friendship,  the  busybodies  contin- 
ued their  infamous  work,  even  as  tfm  Earth-shaker, 
Poseidon,  "gathered  clouds  and  stirred  the  deep,  start- 
ing tempests  from  every  side,"  when  Odysseus  set 
forth  in  his  broad-beamed  raft  from  Calypso's  isle. 

It  was  one  of  the  regulations  in  the  Green  Valley 
School  that  every  pupil  should  pass  out  of  doors  at  re- 
cess. If  any  of  them  wished  to  re-enter  the  room  im- 
mediately after  passing  out,  they  were  at  liberty  to  do 
so,  altho  the  teacher  tried — and  with  considerable  suc- 
cess— to  encourage  out-of-door  exercise.  Some  dis- 
order in  the  vestibule  had  occasioned  the  requirement 
that  no  playing  or  any  kind  of  scuffling  should  take 
place  there.  Accordingto  his  custom,  Stockley  had  pre- 
sented this  matter  to  the  school  in  such  a  light  that  the 
pupils  could  see  the  reasonableness  of  the  requirement, 
and  they  virtually  made  it  themselves.  It  was  several 
weeks  before  anyone  presumed  to  violate  the  self-im- 
posed rule.  One  day,  during  the  afternoon  recess, 
Stockley  heard  a  loud  scuffling  of  feet  in  the  vestibule. 
At  first  he  paid  no  attention  to  it,  but  the  noise  became 
louder,  and  several  bumps  and  thuds  seemed  to  indi- 
cate the  progress  of  a  wrestling  bout.  Opening  the  door 
the  teacher  discovered  James  Wakely  scuffling  with 
Lizzie  Dalny.  He  was  trying  to  put  Lizzie  out  of 
doors,  and- she  was  resisting.  Stockley  hoped  his  pres- 
ence would  end  the  contest,  but  James  continued  his 
efforts  to  eject  the  girl,  who  was  strong  and  nearly  as 
large  as  he. 

Stuping  behind  James,  Stockley  seized  him  by  the 
collar  and  jerked  him  sharply  backward,  in  order  to 


A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  8l 

separate  the  two.  He  at  once  released  his  hold  on 
James,  who  stumbled  backward,  striking  his  elbows  on 
the  floor.  He  rose,  whimpering  and  holding  his  right 
elbow  in  the  opposite  hand. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon,  James  was 
quiet,  but  thoughtful. 

"Here's  a  chance,"  so  he  said  to  himself,  "to  get 
back  on  Stockley.  I  know  my  elbow's  bleeding  some, 
for  it  feels  moist.  I'll  show  it  to  mother — bloody 
shirt-sleeve  and  all — and  she'll  have  father  bring  Mr. 
Teacher  up  standing."  When  school  was  dismissed, 
James  took  the  nearest  route  for  home. 

Mrs.  Wakely  was  a  stout,  florid  wioman,  with  force 
in  her  manner  and  vigor  in  her  temper.  The  pink  and 
white  in  her  face,  and  the  somewhat  showy  elegance  of 
her  attire  attracted  attention  to  her  wherever  she  ap- 
peared. She  possessed  a  powerful  voice  of  soprano 
range  and  quality  which  of  itself  would  have  given  her 
the  entree  into  society  circles  had  it  not  been  that  her 
turbulent  temper  often  betrayed  her  into  brilliant  and 
forcible  character  sketches  of  her  neighbors.  These 
sketches  often  had  the  merit  of  truth,  but  always  the 
disadvantage  of  being  distasteful  to  their  subjects,  who 
received  them  direct  from  the  factory.  It  was  under- 
stood by  those  who  had  caught  glimpses  behind  the 
domestic  curtain,  that  Doctor  Wakeley  was  a  henpecked 
husband. 

Doctor  Wakeley  was  a  tall  man,  of  large  frame, 
weighing,  perhaps,  a  score  of  pounds  over  two 
hundred.  He  was  well  educated,  skillful  in  his 
profession,  and  was  recognized  as  the  leading- 
physician  of  his  section  of  the  state.  He  was  of 


82  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

genial  disposition,  and  this,  with  a  fund  of  anec- 
dote and  a  ready  tongue,  made  him  a  favorite  with  both 
sexes  in  all  classes.  The  general  respect  for  him  was 
qualified,  however,  by  a  proneness  to  bluster,  which, 
like  the  Neapolitan  volcano,  had  seasons  of  rest  fol- 
lowed by  periods  of  activity.  The  Doctor's  cronies  had 
noticed  the  singular  fact  that  his  most  violent  eruptions 
of  boast  fulness  were  synchronous  with  the  visits  he 
made  to  Jake  Rice's  saloon ;  and  it  was  further  noted, 
by  his  next-door  neighbors,  that  such  a  visit  was  the 
invariable  finale  to  a  Wakely  operatic  exhibition,  the 
predominant  features  of  which  were  impassioned  solos 
and  duets  rendered  by  a  high  soprano  and  a  basso 
profundo. 

These  were  the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  boy 
whom  we  left  hastening  homeward,  with  the  intent  of 
rousing  the  maternal  lioness.  Dr.  Wakeley  had  been 
very  cordial  to  the  new  teacher,  and  had  expressed  his 
pleasure  at  the  progress  his  son  appeared  to  be  making 
in  his  studies. 

"Where's  mother?"  James  bawled  to  his  sister, 
Nellie,  whom  he  found  in  the  front  yard. 

"She's  in  the  parlor;  why?" 

James  made  no  answer,  but  rushed  into  the  house. 
Pausing  a  moment  in  the  hallway,  he  caught  the  in- 
jured elbow  in  his  left  hand,  contorted  his  face  with 
simulated  pain,  and  entered  the  parlor,  his  body  bent 
with  an  agony  he  did  not  feel.  His  mother  looked  up. 

"Why,  James,"  she  cried,  starting  forward,  "what's 
the  matter?" 

"O,  mother!    my  elbow  is  awfully  hurt?" 
"Why,  James !    how  did  you  hurt  it  ?" 
"I  (Kdn't  hurt  it ;  Stockley  did  it." 


A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE'  83 

"Stockley,  eh  ?    Let  me  see  it." 

"Oh,  I  don't  believe  I  can  get  my  coat  off;  it  is 
awful." 

"Let  me  help  you  off  with  your  coat." 

"O,  mother,  I  can't  straighten  my  arm  out;  I'm 
afraid  there's  a  bone  broken." 

"What's  the  matter,"  said  a  deep  voice.  Dr.  Waka- 
ley  stood  in  the  door. 

"Here's  some  more  of  Stockley's  work.  He  drove 
Arthur  Blazer  out  of  school,  and  now  he  has  begun  on 
James,"  wrathfully  exclaimed  Mrs.  Wakely. 

The  Doctor  came  forward.  "Are  you  hurt?"  he 
asked.  "Your  elbow,  is  it?  Here — let  me  get  your 
coat  off." 

"Ouch!"  yelled  James,  as  his  father,  straightened 
out  the  arm",  "you  hurt." 

Paying  little  attention  to  the  protests  of  his  youthful 
heir,  the  Doctor  rolled  up  the  shirt  sleeve  and  looked  at 
the  elbow.  He  found  a  slight  abrasion,  from  which 
a  little  blood  had  oozed,  staining  the  white  shirt  sleeve. 
"His  arm  literally  bathed  in  blood,"  was  Mrs.  Wake- 
ley's  description  of  the  injury  to  a  neighbor,  that  even- 
ing. 

Dr.  Wakely's  surgical  sense  told  him  that  the 
scratch  was  not  serious  enough  to  be  spoken  of  as  an 
injury,  and  he  had  seen  enough  of  malingering  to  know 
that  James's  agony  was  wholly  feigned.  He  was  about 
to  say  something  to  that  effect  when  he  checked  himself 
and  called  for  bandages  and  liniment.  .-  He  knew  from 
experience  that  to  oppose  his  wife's  view  ci  the  serious 
character  of  the  case  would  ring  up  the  curtain  on  a 
domestic  comic  opera,  in  which  he  would  be  made  to 


84  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

appear  as  a  tyrant  husband,  abusing  a  delicate  wife  who 
is  trying  to  protect  her  innocent  child  from  his  bru- 
tality. 

"Now,  Doctor  Wakeley,"  said  his  wife,  when  he  had 
finished  bandaging  the  arm,  "I  want  to  know  what 
you're  going  to  do  about  this.  Are  you  going  to  call 
that  ruffian  to  account,  or  have  I  got  to  go  and  do  it  ?" 

"I  don't  know  yet  how  it  happened,"  said  the  Doc- 
tor. "How  was  it,  James?" 

In  a  feeble  voice,  interrupted  by  catchings  of  the 
breath,  and  spasmodic  movements  of  the  elbow  to  in- 
dicate paroxysms  of  pain,  James  told  his  father  how 
Lizzie  Dalny  had  caught  hold  of  him  in  the  school 
house  entry;  how  Stockley  had  rushed  at  him,  seized 
him  by  the  throat,  pushed  him  over  and  then  pounded 
him  up  and  down  on  the  hard  floor  until  every  joint  in 
his  body  was  sore  and  his  elbow  felt  as  if  the  bone  was 
broken;  how  Stockley  had  yanked  him  up  from  the 
floor  and  made  him  go  to  his  seat,  when  he  could  just 
drag  one  foot  after  the  other ;  how  he  had  suffered  such 
awful  pain  that  he  couldn't  study;  and  how  he  had  just 
strength  enough  to  crawl  home  when  school  was  out. 

The  Doctor  listened  to  the  lying  tale  without  com- 
ment, recognizing  its  essential  falsity,  and  when  his 
irate  spouse  demanded  that  he  should,  that  very  night, 
visit  condign  punishment  upon  the  "brute"  who  had 
"almost  killed"  his  child,  he  muttered  that  he  would 
see  the  teacher  and  "straighten  the  matter  out."  At 
supper  he  was  silent,  while  his  wife  entertained  the 
family  with  tirades  against  "beggarly  upstarts,  that  set 
themselves  up  as  professors"  and  "people  that  call 
themselves  men  and  haven't  courage  enough  to  pro- 


A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  85 

tect  their  own  children."  As  soon  as  the  meal  was 
finished,  the  Doctor  put  on  his  hat  and  went  out. 

He  walked  slowly  down  town.  He  found  himself 
involved  in  a  serious  dilemma.  If  he  were  to  act  on 
his  own  judgment,  he  would  seek  the  teacher; 
would  tell  him  that  he  had  heard  of  his  trou- 
ble with  James  and  assure  him  that  if  the  boy  had 
misbehaved,  he  would  co-operate  with  him,  the 
teacher,  in  disciplining  him ;  and  would  then  hear 
Stockley's  version  of  the  trouble.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  realized  that  he  would  be  held  to  a  strict  account  of 
his  interview  with  the  schoolmaster  and  that  his 
home  would  be  made  a  place  of  torment  to  him  unless 
he  were  able  to  report  that  he  had  "licked"  or,  at 
least,  thoroughly  bullied  him. 

In  the  midst  of  his  doubts,  his  eye  caught  the  red 
sign  on  the  glass  door  of  Jake  Rice's  saloon.  There 
was  that  inside  which  would  calm  his  nerves  and  blunt 
the  mental  pain  he  was  enduring.  He  entered  and  or- 
dered a  glass  of  whisky.  Taking  it  to  a  table,  he  sat 
and  sipped  it.  In  less  than  a  minute,  an  agreeable 
sensation  of  warmth  stole  over  him.  By  the  time  the 
glass  was  empty,  his  wife's  view  of  the  case  seemed 
a  little  less  unreasonable  to  him.  He  ordered  his  glass 
replenished.  In  two  minutes  it  was  again  empty.  The 
liquor  had  warmed  "the  cockles  of  his  heart."  To  t*> 
sure,  he  thought,  James  had  not  been  seriously  crip- 
pled, but  what  right  had  a  stranger  to  come  to  a 
peaceful  town  and  begin  abusing  the  young  people 
whose  parents  were  trying  to  give  them  an  education  ? 
It  wasn't  at  all  likely  that  Stockley  was  a  saint  who 
couldn't  do  wrong  and  that  James  was  a  little  fiend, 
who  couldn't  tell  the  truth.  "What  motive,"  he  asked 


86  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

himself,  "what  motive — that's  where  it  is — what  mo- 
tive could  that  poor  boy  possibly  have  for  lying  about 
his  teacher?"  He  felt  that  he  was  beginning  to  take 
a  healthy,  a  reasonable  view  of  the  case.  He  struck 
the  table  with  his  fist  and  ordered  a  third  glass. 

"Fill  it  up  full,"  he  ordered. 

His  sips  were  now  larger  and  more  frequent.  As 
the  level  of  the  liquor  lowered,  the  matter  that  had 
troubled  him  gradually  took  a  different  form,  and  ap- 
peared in  a  clearer  light.  The  lying  spirit  of  Alcohol 
fastened  its  grip  upon  him.  It  whispered  to  him  that 
his  wife's  maternal  instinct  was  unerring;  that  at  all 
events,  she  was  his  wife;  she  had  always  been  true  to 
him ;  she  was  the  mother  of  his  boy  and  that  boy  was 
his  child,  and  "by  the  great  horn  spoon,"  no  rascally 
upstart  should  come  into  his  family  and  club  his  child- 
ren (here  a  parental  tear  filled  his  eye  )  with  impunity. 
He  had  reached  the  fighting  stage  of  intoxication.  He 
had  sense  enough  to  know  that  another  glass  would  be 
too  much  and  that  he  must  act  quickly  before  his 
courage  should  ooze  away.  It  would  have  taken  a 
close  observer  to  note  any  unsteadiness  in  his  gait  as 
he  emerged  from  the  saloon. 

He  inquired  of  the  first  man  he  met  on  the  street 
if  he  had  seen  anything  of  Professor  Stockley,  and 
was  informed  that  the  man  he  sought  was  then  in  the 
office  of  the  Excelsior  Hotel.  Proceeding  thither,  he 
saw  his  victim  through  the  glass  front.  He  opened  the 
door  and  called  to  him.  "Professor,"  he  said,  "may  I 
speak  to  you  a  moment  outside?"  Stockley  had  stop- 
ped in  passing,  to  speak  with  Austin  Green,  the  young 
landlord,  for  the  two  had  become  excellent  friends 


A  CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  87 

during  the  teacher's  stay  at  the  hotel.  He  stepped  out 
on  the  piazza.  He  conjectured  the  object  of  the  Doc- 
tor's call,  and  his  olfactory  sense  informed  him  of  his 
visitor's  condition. 

"Good  evening,  Doctor,"  said  he,  "what  can  I  do 
for  you?" 

"You  can't  do  anything  for  me, — you've  done  too 
much  already, — you've  been  beating  my  boy,  and  I'm 
here  (here  he  raised  his  voice)  to  know  what  you 
mean  by  it." 

"You  are  in  error,"  replied  Stockley,  "I  did  not 
beat  James." 

"Yes,  you  did,  and  you  needn't  try  to  lie  out  of  it. 
I  know  all  about  it.  I've  heard  the  whole  story  and 
you  can't  throw  any  dust  in  my  eyes  and  I've  come 
here  to  have  this  thing  out  with  you  right  here  with- 
out any  palaver,  and  it's  no  use  for  you  to  say  that 
you  didn't  intend  to  hurt  the  boy,  for  you  did, — you 
did.  I'm  not  going  to  do  anything  rash  without  giving 
you  a  chance  t'  mention  any  'xtenuating  circumstances 
if  th'r  are  any,  but  you've  got  to  speak  almighty  quick. 
Now,  young  man,  have  you  got  anything  to  say  for 
yourself?" 

Without  Stockley's  knowledge,  Austin  Black  had 
sent  his  burly  hostler  out  of  a  back  door,  with  instruc- 
tions to  pass  around  to  the  front,  post  himself  behind 
a  pillar,  and  "sail  in"  if  the  Doctor  should  lift  his  arm 
against  the  teacher.  For  the  same  purpose,  Black  had 
placed  himself  at  the  office  door,  which  he  held  a  lit- 
tle ajar,  listening  to  the  conversation. 

"You  have  a  perfect  right  to  inquire,  in  a  gentle- 
manly way  about  my  treatment  of  James,"  replied 


88  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

Stockley,  "and  I  will  be  glad  to  explain  this  matter  to 
you"  (he  was  about  to  say,  "when  you  have  sobered 
off,"  but  refrained,)  "at  some  other  time." 

"Some  other  time  won't  answer.  I  want  your  ex- 
planation right  here,  if  you  have  any  to  offer,  and  it 
must  be  straight  and  satisfying  to  th'  intellect  of  any 
man,  woman  'r  child  and-a  no  p'varication  n'r  foolish- 
ness. Never  b'fore  has  't  fall'n  to  my  lot  to  find  fault 
'th  a  teacher's  treatment  'f  a  child  'f  mine,  but  I  want 
it  und'stood  th't  no  int'loper  c'n  come  into  this  peace- 
ful c'mun'ty  and  abuse  my  child  w'th  im-p'r-tun'ty. 
I've  a  good  mind  to  lick  you  right  here." 

The  peculiarity  of  the  Doctor's  language  was  not 
due  to  lack  of  intelligence,  but  to  that  thickening  of 
the  tongue  and  that  partial  loss  of  control  over  the 
mental  processes  which  characterize  the  stage  of  in- 
ebriety he  had  then  reached.  As  he  grew  more  in- 
coherent and  more  belligerent,  the  office  door  opened 
a  little  wider,  and  a  burly  form  edged  almost  into 
view  around  the  pillar  which  concealed  it.  The  Doc- 
tor's threat  stirred  Stockley's  fighting  blood,  but  keep- 
ing in  mind  the  unfortunate  condition  of  his  antago- 
nist, as  well  as  the  friendly  spirit  he  had  hitherto  shown, 
he  did  not  attempt  to  reason  with  him.  His  reply  was 
brief  and  pointed. 

"Doctor  Wakely,"  he  said,  quietly  and  firmly,  "you 
are  a  larger  man  than  I,  and  can  perhaps  'lick'  me, 
but  you  cannot  frighten  me.  If  James  continues  in 
school,  he  will  be  under  my  authority.  If  you're  go- 
ing to  lick  me,  begin  now,  for  I  have  other  business  to 
attend  to." 

The  Doctor  was  dazed.     The  affair  was  taking-  a 


A   CASE  OF  DISCIPLINE  89 

different  turn  from  what  he  had  expected.  He  was 
passing  out  of  the  fighting  and  into  the  depressed  stage 
of  intoxication.  After  waiting  a  few  seconds  without 
receiving  a  reply,  Stockley  re-entered  the  hotel.  The 
Doctor  went  home,  where  he  reported  that  he  had  fixed 
"that  fellow"  so  that  he  wouldn't  want  to  "monkey 
with  James  any  more." 

The  effect  this  report  had  on  James's  subsequent 
conduct  in  school  will  be  related  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  SCHOOL  ROMANCE 

A  mighty  pain  to  love  it  is, 

And  't  is  a  pain  that  pain  to  miss ; 

But  of  all  pains,  the  greatest  pain 

It  is  to  love,  but  love  in  vain.  — Cowley. 

"Will  you  please  help  me  with  this  example  in 
percentage  ?" 

Stockley  supposed  all  the  pupils  had  passed  out  of 
the  room,  and  was  making  up  his  daily  attendance  rec- 
ord when  he  heard  these  words  in  a  soft  voice  at  the 
side  of  his  desk.  He  had  become  quite  familiar  with 
the  tones,  for  he  had  several  times,  within  the  past  two 
weeks,  heard  them  preferring  a  similar  request.  Ur- 
line  Simpton  was  a  quiet  and  studious  girl  of  seven- 
teen or  thereabout,  with  brown  hair,  a  high  forehead 
surmounting  full  cheeks  tinged  with  red  and  sparingly 
sown  with  freckles  which  were  invisible  except  to  a 
close  observer.  The  sadness  in  her  large,  light-blue 
eyes  always  impressed  strangers  and  led  them  to  won- 
der what  sombre  history  was  written  in  their  depths. 
Urline  was  often  the  last  pupil  to  leave  the  school  at 
night,  and  altho  Stockley's  duties  usually  detained  him 
after  the  pupils  had  gone,  he  had  frequently  over- 
taken her  and  had  walked  some  distance  with  her  on 
his  homeward  way.  Of  late,  she  had  had  many  diffi- 
culties with  her  studies,  and  had  asked  his  help  in 
overcoming  them.  In  his  glances  about  the  room 
while  the  school  was  in  session  he  had  frequently 
found  her  great  eyes  bent  upon  him,  with  a  sorrow- 


A    SCHOOL    ROMANCE  9! 

ful  expression  which  impressed  him  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, and  which  he  was  unable  to  interpret.  On  this 
evening,  when  he  heard  her  request  for  assistance,  the 
expression  of  her  face,  as  he  looked  up,  was  a  revela- 
tion to  him.  Her  head  was  ever  so  little  inclined  to 
one  side,  and  the  ghost  of  a  melancholy  smile  faded 
away  as  his  eyes  rested  on  her 

"Can  it  be,"  flashed  into  his  mind,  "that  the  girl  is 
in  love  with  me?" 

His  manner  was  almost  brusque  as  he  rendered  the 
desired  help.  As  soon  as  he  had  given  it  he  rose  and 
took  his  hat  from  its  peg,  preparatory  to  passing  out. 
Urline  turned  away  with  what  Stockley  fancied  to  be 
a  grieved  expression,  and  as  soon  as  she  had  started 
for  the  village  he  walked  away  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion. 

When  the  teacher  entered  the  schoolroom  me  next 
morning,  Urline  was  at  her  desk,  bending  over  a  book, 
while  half  a  dozen  other  pupils  were  sitting  or  walking 
about,  in  lively  conversation.  On  the  teacher's  desk 
lay  a  small,  square  envelope,  addressed  in  a  neat,  fem- 
inine hand  to 


<Js4.a.4fe*t4.a^.      <-%.•.    c-Sw 

"Urline  Simpton!"  was  his  first  thought.  He  laid 
the  envelope  to  one  side,  took  his  seat,  and  commenced 
writing.  After  a  minute  or  more  had  passed,  he 
looked  up  and  glanced  slowly  about  the  room.  When 
his  eye  at  last  rested  on  Urline,  he  was  at  once  struck 
with  the  intensity  of  her  study,  and  this,  with  the 
scarlet  in  her  usually  pale  forehead  confirmed  his  sus- 


92  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

picion  that  she  was  the  correspondent.  It  was  not  un- 
til the  last  student  had  departed  that  evening,  and  he 
had  carefully  locked  the  door  on  the  inside,  that  he 
broke  the  seal  of  the  little  missive.  The  contents  were 
slightly  amusing  and  decidedly  embarrassing  to  him. 
This  is  what  he  read : 

TO   MY  GUIDE  AND  FRIEND 

At  morning-tide  I  sit  me  down 
'By  the  bright  brooklet's  gurgling  stream, 
And  muse,  far  from  the  noisy  town, 
On  mem'ries  sweet,  which  ever  seem 

To  be  of  thee, 

Only  of  thee. 

'At  eve's  still  hour  I  walk  beside 
The  darksome  river's  treach'rous  flow, 
And  think  how  like  its  turbid  tide 
Would  be  the  blackness  of  my  woe 

Bereft  of  thee, 

Ah  me,  of  thee! 

O,  when  I  stem,  from  shore  to  shore, 
The  torrent  deep  which  lies  between 
The  now  and  the  forevermore, 
Still,  still  my  heart  will  swell,  I  ween, 

With  thoughts  of  thee, 

Sweet  thoughts  of  thee. 

Fortunately  or  unfortunately,  Rutledge  Stockley 
was  so  constituted  that  the  funny  side  of  an  experience 
like  this  was  the  first  to  present  itself.  He  laughed 
audibly  at  the  picture  of  Urline  Simpton  dragging  her 
skirts  thru  the  wet  grass  on  the  banks  of  streams  of  as- 
sorted sizes,  depths,  and  turbidness,  and  mooning  on 
his  account.  But  his  mood  quickly  changed.  Urline 
was  a  faithful  student  and  a  good  girl.  Moreover, 
although  her  lines  indicated  a  morbid  mental  condition 
they  were  not  entirely  destitute  of  merit.  A  half- 


A    SCHOOL    ROMANCE  93 

hour's  rumination  matured  a  plan,  which  he  success- 
fully carried  out,  to  renovate  the  poor  girl's  diseased 
mentality  with  healthful  thoughts  from  his  own  super- 
abundant vigor. 

The  next  morning,  Stockley  was  at  the  school- 
house  half  an  hour  before  the  time  for  opening.  He 
was  not  mistaken  in  his  expectation  that  Urline  would 
be  one  of  the  early  comers.  An  opportunity  soon  pre- 
sented itself  for  speaking  to  her  in  the  presence  of 
other  girls.  Seeing  Eva  Black  and  Allie  Harley  near 
her  desk,  he  walked  briskly  thither,  with  an  open  smile 
on  his  face  and  her  poem  in  hand. 

"Urline,"  he  said,  taking  no  pains  to  conceal  his 
words  from  the  other  girls,  who  at  once  discontinued 
their  conversation  and  listened,  "Urline,  your  poem  is 
really  very  good.  I  suppose  you  wanted  me  to  know 
about  your  poetic  talent.  I  had  not  suspected  it.  It 
came  to  me  as  a  very  agreeable  surprise.  The  im- 
aginary guide  and  friend  (or  is  he  a  real  one?)  to 
whom  you  address  it  may  well  feel  complimented. 
You  ought  to  cultivate  your  talent  for  rhyme  and 
measure,  Urline." 

"What!  Urline  writing  poetry?"  exclaimed  Eva; 
"can't  we  read  it?"  She  made  a  movement  as  if  to  take 
it  from  Stockley 's  hand. 

"O,  Mr.  Stockley !"  cried  Urline,  springing  forward 
with  a  crimson  face. 

The  teacher  put  the  paper  behind  him.  "You  need 
not  fear,  Urline,"  said  he,  "no  one  shall  see  it  with- 
out your  permission;  but  you  must  not  be  so  modest. 
I  think  we  must  look  to  you  for  an  original  poem  to  be 
read  by  you  at  our  next  Friday  afternoon  rhetoricals. 


94 


THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 


Now,  girls,"  he  laughed,  addressing  Eva  and  Allie, 
"with  your  permission,  I'm  going  to  ask  our  poetess  to 
grant  me  the  favor  of  a  private  audience."  The  girls 
good-naturedly  retired  and  the  teacher,  after  making 


A    SCHOOL   ROMANCE  95 

some  suggestions  to  Urline  en  minor  points  relating  to 
language  and  construction,  returned  to  nis  desk. 

Urline's  sensitive  soul  was  wounded.  She  had  con- 
ceived for  Stockley  a  vague  and  dreamy  but  none  the 
less  intense  passion  such  as  girls  of  her  temperament 
sometimes  form  for  their  favorite  teachers.  She  had 
not  attempted  to  analyze  her  feeling;  she  was  simply 
conscious  of  a  sadly  sweet  sentiment,  too  sacred  to  be 
revealed  to  anyone  but  its  object,  which  filled  her 
soul,  and  was  to  be — she  firmly  believed — the  domi- 
nant influence  in  her  life.  Stockley's  light  treatment 
of  the  matter  was  a  shock  to  her.  It  showed  the  fu- 
tility of  hoping  for  any  response  to  her  sentiment.  But 
while  it  grieved  and  humiliated  her,  it  began  a  work 
of  disillusion  and  planted  seeds  which,  under  the 
watchful  care  of  the  teacher,  developed,  in  time,  into 
a  healthful  growth.  By  the  end  of  the  year,  she  had 
outgrown  her  sentimental  weakness  and  had  passed 
into  a  stage  of  normal  activity.  When  the  pain  in- 
duced by  the  teacher's  kindly  rebuff  had  sufficiently 
subsided,  she  composed,  at  his  suggestion,  a  little 
poem  which  was  read  in  public  on  a  Visitors  Day,  in 
the  early  spring.  It  spoke  of  river  and  brook,  as  her 
former  poem  had  done,  and  perhaps  she  designed  it  to 
inform  her  teacher  of  the  new  viewpoint  from  which 
she  looked  upon  life.  While  the  latter  poem  was,  pos- 
sibly, no  better  than  the  other  from  a  literary  point  of 
view,  its  tone  indicated  a  more  normal  habit  of 
thought. 


96  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

THE   SINGING   STREAMS 

The   bounding,    dancing,   purling   streams 

Sing  blithesomely  all  day; 
And  filled  with  joy,  with  rapture,  seems 

Their  merry  roundelay. 

The  river  adds  its  deep,  full  bass; 

A  glad  duet  they  make; 
And  laughter  brightens  Nature's  face 

In  meadow,  hill,  and  lake. 

But  when  I  list  the  choral  song 

Of  river,  brook,  and  mead. 
My  soul  responds  with  courage  strong 

For  noble  thought  and  deed. 

Thus  pleasantly,  tho  strenuously,  did  the  young 
teacher  pursue  his — 

"Delightful  task,  to  rear  the  tender  thought, 
To  teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot." 

If  his  guardian  angel  brought  him  any  warning  of 
threatened  disaster,  the  premonition  was  unheeded  and 
even  unheard. 


CHAPTER  IX 
EDMUND  BURKE 

Humor  is  the  only  test  of  gravity,  and  gravity  of  humor. 
A  subject  which  will  not  bear  raillery  is  suspicious. 

Gorgias  Leontinus. 

The  next  morning  after  Dr.  Wakely's  futile  attempt 
to  bully  the  schoolmaster,  the  latter  was  smilingly 
accosted  by  two  or  three  friends  on  his  way  to  the 
school.  John  McMillan  stood  in  the  door  of  his  hard- 
ware store  when  the  teacher  came  along. 

"Good  morning,  Stockley,"  said  John,  laughing, 
"Doc.  called  on  you  last  night,  didn't  he  ?" 

"Yes — he  did,"  Stockley  replied,  his  manner  in- 
dicating some  reluctance  to  discuss  the  subject. 

"Oh,  you  needn't  hesitate  to  speak  of  it,"  said  John, 
"everybody  in  town  knows  about  it  by  this  time  and, 
what's  more,  everybody's  glad  you  called1  his  bluff  and 
sent  him  off  with  his  flag  hauled  down." 

"Why,  Mr.  McMillan,  there  was  no  fighting,  and  I 
have  no  wish  to  be  regarded  as  an  upper  dog.  Besides, 
I  have,  perhaps,  not  heard  the  last  of  it  from  the  Doctor. 
He  believed  I  had  abused  his  son,  and  I  don't  blame 
him  for  wishing  to  protect  the  boy." 

"Bosh!  He  knew  very  well  you  hadn't  hurt  Jim, 
and  he  knew,  too,  thai  if  Jim  had  his  deseri,  you'd  have 
given  him  a  good  whaling." 

"How  did  you  know  anything  about  it?"  inquired 
the  teacher. 

•'Why,  Austin  Black  was  in  the  store  last  night  after 


98  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

you  sent  Doc.  packing,  and  you  never  saw  a  crowd 
more  tickled  than  the  fellows  were  when  he  told  how 
you  wound  him  up.  Ha,  ha,  ha !" 

"But  how  do  you  know  whether  James  deserved 
punishment  or  anything  about  what  I  really  did  to 
him?" 

"O,  Charlie  Loring  told  all  about  it,  last  night,  in 
Dan's  grocery.  Jim  has  always  had  trouble  with  his 
teachers  and  he  needs  a  good  lathering  about  once 
in  so  often  to  make  him  know  what's  what." 

"Still,  the  Doctor  appeared  to  really  believe  that 
James  had  been  unjustly  treated." 

"Don't  you  believe  it.  His  wife  just  put  him  up  to 
it,  and  he  wouldn't  have  dared  to  peep  to  you  about 
it  if  he  hadn't  filled  up  on  Dutch  courage  first.  Some 
of  us  fellows  saw  him  going  into  Jake  Rice's  saloon  just 
after  we  heard  Charlie  Loring's  story,  and  we  all  knew 
what  that  meant.  Doc's  a  great  blusterer,  but  he'd  run 
away  from  a  ten  year  old  boy  if  the  kid  shook  his  fist  at 
him.  Doc's  naturally  a  good-natured  man  and  means  to 
do  the  right  thing,  but  I'll  bet  a  dollar  his  wife  bullied 
him  into  looking  you  up  to  'ick  you  and  he  didn't  dare 
to  go  home  without  trying  to  do  it." 

"Well,"  said  Stockley,  "I  only  want  James  to  be 
a  good  boy  and  attend  to  his  work." 

He  started  along  the  street  and  met  Dan  Loring. 

"Hello,"  cried  Loring,  "I'm  mighty  glad  you're  able 
to  be  out!''  He  walked  around  the  schoolmaster  and 
gingery  felt  of  his  arnu  and  legs,  his  skull  and  collar 
bones,  '  1  expected  Doc'd  have  to  turn  to  and  set 
ah  your  bones  after  he  got  thru  with  you  last  night. 
He,  he,  lie!" 


EDMUND  BURKE  99 

"No,"  said  Stockley,  "it  wasn't  quite  as  bad  as 
that." 

"Look  here,"  said  Dan,  with  assumed  seriousness, 
"half  a  dozen  of  us  fellows  will  go  with  you  for  a 
body  guard  till  you  get  past  Doc's  house,  if  you  just 
say  the  word." 

"No,  never  mind.  I'm  much  obliged,  but  I  think 
there's  no  seriou,s  danger.  I  must  hurry  along  or  I'll 
be  late  at  school." 

The  secretary  of  the  Minnesota  State  Board  of 
Health,  in  one  of  his  addresses  delivered  before  the 
State  Educational  Association,  spoke  of  the  importance 
of  cultivating  hygienic  habits  in  the  young.  "Young 
people,"  said  he,  "need  to  be  constantly  reminded  of 
those  practices  which  are  beneficial  to  health  and  preju- 
dicial to  it.  If  parents  and  teachers  are  persistent,  there 
comes  a  time,  at  the  age  of  from  17  to  21,  when  the 
boy  begins  to  hang  up  his  hat,  to  shut  the  door,  to  eat, 
drink,  and  sleep  hygienically."  Some  of  the  pupils  in 
the  Green  Valley  school  had  reached  the  stage  of  de- 
velopment referred  to,  but  there  was  a  considerable 
number  who  had  not  yet  acquired  the  habit  of  closing 
the  schoolroom  door  after  them,  and  one  of  the  most 
inveterate  offenders  was  Mary  Milligan. 

When  Stockley  reached  the  schoolhouse  after 
his  conversation  with  McMillan  and  Dan  Lor- 
ing,  the  hands  of  the  clock  indicated  four  min- 
utes of  nine.  When  he  rang  the  bell,  the 
pupils  who  were  still  outside  started  promptly  for 
the  building.  That  lesson  they  had  pretty  thoroly 
learned.  Mary  Milligan  was  the  last  to  enter  the  room 


IOO  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

and,  according  to  her  invariable  custom,  she  left  the 
door  wide  open.  Stockley  had  sent  her  back  to  close 
the  door  on  no  fewer  than  twenty  occasions  before 
th:s,  and  he  was  in  some  danger  of  los;rg  his  patience. 
He  was  sorely  tempted  to  administer  a  cutting  and 
sarcastic  admonition,  and  a  few  keen  phrases  came  to 
his  mind  that  would  have  made  Mary  wish  she  had 
never  seen  a  door.  But  he  caught  himself  and  held 
back.  It  would  have  afforded  him  a  temporary  grati- 
fication to  give  Mary  a  cutting  up,  but  would  it  do  her 
any  good  ?  Would  it  help  her  to  form  the  right  habit  ? 
Would  it  not  so  arouse  her  hostility  to  him  as  to  prac- 
tically deprive  him  of  the  power  to  influence  her  for 
good  ?  She  liked  him  now  and  he  had  her  confidence. 
Again,  his  reserve  of  good  sense  came  to  his  aid,  and  in 
much  less  time  than  it  has  taken  to  describe  the  work- 
ing of  his  mind  he  had  decided  upon  a  remedy  which 
happily  proved  to  be  efficacious,  for  it  cured  the  leav- 
ing-the-door-open  habit,  not  only  for  Mary  but  for  the 
entire  school.  As  his  proceeding  illustrates  a  principle 
which  was  fundamental  in  his  method  of  discipline,  it 
will  be  described  in  detail. 

There  was  in  the  teacher's  face  and  action,  no  token 
of  annoyance.  The  morning  was  cold,  and  pupils  who 
sat  near  the  door  shivered  a  little  as  the  chilly  air 
swept  in.  They  looked  appealingly  to  the  teacher,  but 
he  proceeded  with  the  roll-call  as  if  everything  were 
snug  and  ship  shape.  It  was  customary  for  the  school 
to  sing  immediately  after  the  calling  of  the  roll,  but 
this  morning  the  teacher  said  to  them:  "  I  read  an 
excellent  story  not  long  ago  in  which  I  think  you  would 
be  interested,  and  I  know  of  no  better  time  to  tell  it  to 


EDMUND  BURKE  IOI 

you  than  now  if  you  would  ,ike  to  have  me  do  so.  But 
if  you  have  the  story,  we  can't  have  the  usual  morning 
song.  What  do  you  say?" 

He  saw  by  the  animated  and  smiling  faces  before 
him  that  he  had  struck  a  popular  chord.  No  one  looked 
more  pleased  than  Mary  Milligan.  "Shall  we  have  the 
story  instead  of  the  song,  Mary?"  asked  the  teacher. 
"Yes,  sir!"  she  replied,  with  an  energetic  nod.  "Very 
well,"  he  assented,  "the  story  it  shall  be ;  and  as  Mary 
is  the  one  who  has  expressed  what  seems  to  be  the 
general  preference,  this  story  shall  be  called  Mary's 
Story.  I'll  dedicate  it  to  her."  At  this  point,  all  eyes 
were  focused  on  Mary.  Many  were  compelled  to  turn 
half  round  and  even  to  crane  their  necks  in  order 
to  catch  sight  of  her  face  which,  by  this  time  was  suf- 
fused with  red.  Stockley  had  planned  to  make  Mary 
the  central  figure  in  his  dramatic  monologue,  without 
seeming  to  hold  her  up  as  such,  hoping  thus  to  brand 
upon  her  memory  the  moral  of  the  story  while  retain- 
ing her  good  will  and  preserving  her  good  nature.  As 
for  her,  the  concentration  of  attention  upon  her  gave 
her  a  distinct  sensation  of  discomfort  without  dis- 
turbing seriously  her  good  humor.  Altho  no  person  in 
the  room  could  have  detected  a  glance  of  the  teacher 
toward  Mary,  he  watched  the  effect  upon  her  of  every 
part  of  his  story  with  a  solicitude  analagous  to  that  with 
which  a  careful  physician  watches  the  effect  of  a  dose 
administered  to  a  patient. 

"My  story,"  he  began,  "is  about  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds, a  celebrated  English  painter,  whose  career  ex- 
tended over  the  greater  part  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
I  hope  that  some  day  you  will  know  something  about  the 


102  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

life  and  works  of  this  great  artist,  but  it  is  just  one 
incident  I  want  to  tell  you  about  this  morning.  One  of 
Sir  Joshua's  intimate  friends  was  Edmund  Burke,  a 
member  of  the  British  Parliament  to  whom  we  Ameri- 
cans owe  a  debt  of  gratitude.  Well,  one  day  at  the  con- 
clusion of  a  visit  to  the  artist  in  his  studio,  he  (that 
is  Burke)  opened  the  door  to  pass  out,  and  instead 
of  closing  it,  as  a  thoughtful  person  would  have  done, 
he  left  it  wide  open.  It  was  not  at  all  strange  that 
when  the  footman  opened  the  front  door  for  Burke 
to  emerge  upon  the  street,  a  gust  of  air  should  sweep 
into  the  house,  rush  thru  the  open  door  of  the  studio, 
and  scatter  a  pile  of  papers  that  had  been  arranged 
with  great  precision  and  in  a  certain  order.  The 
artist,  very  naturally,  was  annoyed.  Burke  had  care- 
lessly (not  purposely,  of  course)  done  the  same  thing 
before.  After  waiting  about  ten  minutes  to  be  sure 
that  his  visitor  was  well  on  his  way,  Sir  Joshua  rang 
for  a  servant,  and  dispatched  him  with  a  note  to  Burke 
who  was  to  be  found  at  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
note  ran  like  this : 

"My  dear  Burke  : — 

'An   event   of  considerable  moment  to   me   has 
occurred  since  you  left  the  studio  a  short  time 
ago, — an  event  which  affects  me  deeply. 
'If  you   can   come   to  me    for  five   minutes   with- 
out prejudice  to  the  important  interests  you  rep- 
resent in  the  House,  you  have  it  in  your  power  to 
confer  a  very  great  favor  upon 

'Your  obedient  servant, 

'JosnuA  REYNOLDS.' 


EDMUND   BURKE  IO3 

"Burke  of  course  -hastened  to  the  assistance  of  Sir 
Joshua  as  fast  as  a  cab  could  carry  him.  His  generous 
Irish  nature  would  have  prompted  great  sacrifices,  if 
necessary,  in  the  service  of  his  friend.  In  great  ex- 
citement, he  rushed  into  the  studio,  where,  to  his  sur- 
prise, he  found  the  artist  working  quite  calmly  at  his 
easel.  'What  is  the  trouble,  my  dear  friend?'  he  ex- 
claimed, '"how  can  I  aid  you  ?' 

'Oh,  it's  you  is  it,  Burke/  said  Sir  Joshua,  calmly 
turning  to  his  excited  friend.  'Let  me  see ;  what  was 
it  ?  Oh,  yes,  you  can  "aid"  me  to  collect  and  rearrange 
these  scattered  papers.  They  were  disarranged  by  the 
wind  that  came  in  when  you  left  the  door  open  a  little 
while  ago.' 

'Burke's  hot  Irish  temper  threatened,  for  a  moment 
to  master  him,  but  it  was  quickly  suppressed  by  that 
happy  sense  of  humor  for  which  the  natives  of  the 
Emerald  Isle  are  proverbial.  He  entered  into  the  spirit 
of  the  serious  joke  and  scurried  about  the  room  to  help 
pick  up  the  stray  papers.  He  never  again  left  Sir 
Joshua  Reynolds' s  door  open  if  he  found  it  closed." 

The  story  was  successful  in  arousing  the  interest 
of  the  pupils.  Even  James  Wakely's  flaccid  face 
showed  signs  of  animation.  Mary  Milligan's  eyes  had 
a  thoughtful  look.  She  somehow  vaguely  associated 
the  story  with  something  she  had  done  or  had  failed  to 
do — something  upon  which  she  had  been  admonished 
by  the  teacher.  Her  eyes  which  had'  fallen  upon  her 
desk  at  the  conclusion  of  the  story  were  again  directed 
to  him  when  he  again  began  to  speak. 

"No  papers  have  been  scattered  here,"  he  said, 
"but  these  little  girls  on  the  front  seats  look  rather 


IO4  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

blue  from  the  cold."  Mary  Milligan's  head  came  up 
with  a  jerk;  her  face  lighted  up  with  a  broad  smile; 
she  saw  the  point.  "If  we  have  a  Burke  here  who  left 
the  door  open,  and  if  Burke  can,  'without  prejudice 
to  important  interests/  take  time  to  close"  (Mary  was 
in  the  aisle,  making  for  the  door.)  "it,  she  has  it  in 
her  power  to  confer  a  very  great  favor  on  every 
schol — ."  He  was  unable  to  proceed,  for  the  school 
was  in  a  roar  of  laughter  in  which  Mary  joined.  She 
did  wish,  however,  she  had  not  left  the  door  open 
and  before  reaching  her  seat  she  had  firmly  resolved 
never,  never  to  do  it  again. 

But,  while  she  had  a  "heart  to  resolve,"  her  head 
was  "to  dumb  forgetfulness  a  prey".  That  very  fore- 
noon, when  she  came  in  from  recess,  she  was  the  last 
one  to  enter  the  room,  and  she  left  the  deer  open. 
A±>  soon  as  all  were  seated,  Stockley  began :  .  "One 
day,  Edmund  Burke  paid  a  visit  to  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds in  the  stu —  "  By  the  time  the  seventh  word  was 
uttered.  Mary  was  on  her  way  to  the  door,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  finish  the  sentence,  for  the  words  were 
drowned  in  the  laughter  of  trie  school. 

It  was  three  days  before  the  door  was  again  left 
open.  Again  Stockley  began  the  story  in  exactly  the 
same  words  he  had  used  before:  "One  day.  Edm — ." 
Again  the  laughter  and  again  a  scholar  on  his  way  to 
the  door.  This  time  it  was  one  of  the  boys. 

These  three  doses  completed  the  cure.  It  was, 
thereafter,  very  rare  for  the  door  to  be  left  open  when 
it  should  have  been  closed.  If  a  luckless  pupil  chanced 
to  commit  the  offense,  the  others  took  the  matter  in 


EDMUND   BURKE  IO5 

hand,  calling  him  Edmund  Burke,  until  some  other 
poor  fellow  had  earned  the  name. 


CHAPTER  X 

JAMES  LEARNS  A  VALUABLE  LESSON 
Si  finis  bonus  est,  totum  bonum  erit. 

— Latin  Proverb. 

James  Wakely's  step  had  an  unaccustomed  spring- 
iness \vhen  lie  appeared  on  the  school  grounds  the 
morning  following  his  father's  interview  with  Stock- 
ley.  The  Doctor's  report  to  his  wife  of  how  "the  poor 
fellow"  had  cringed  before  him  would  have  been  en- 
titled to  be  classed  as  yellow  if  the  reporter  had  been 
a  journalist.  In  the  process  of  transmission  through 
Mrs.  Wakely's  intellectual  dye  vat  into  that  of  her  son, 
it  lost  none  of  its  saffron-like  brilliancy,  and  when  the 
latter  presented  the  finished  product  to  a  few  select 
schoolmates,  it  had  the  variety  as  well  as  the  brilliancy 
of  a  first-class  rainbow.  The  boy  felt  an  unwonted 
sense  of  freedom.  He  was  confident  that  he  could  now 
defy  the  teacher's  authority  and  that  the  latter  would 
not  dare  resent  his  defiance.  He  determined  that,  be- 
fore the  day  was  over,  he  would  put  his  new  freedom 
to  the  test.  He  had  been  drawn — against  his  will — 
into  the  current  of  interest  in  the  story  about  Edmund 
Burke,  but  he  had  speedily  got  himself  out  of  it.  The 
teacher  was  not  unobservant  of  James's  attitude.  He 
read  the  boy's  purpose  in  every  action  and  he  deter- 
mined to  precipitate  matters  by  presenting  him  a 
ready-made  opportunity. 

Between  two  of  the  afternoon  recitations,  he  tapped 
his  desk  bell.  This  was  a  signal  for  the  scholars  to 


JAMES   LEARNS  A   VALUABLE   LESSON  TO/ 

stop  whatever  work  they  were  doing  and  fold  their 
arms  to  hear  anything  the  teacher  might  wish  to  say  to 
them.  Every  pupil  except  James  promptly  folded  his 
arms. 

"James,"  said  Stockley,  "did  you  hear  the  bell?" 

"Yes,"  was  the  sullen  reply. 

"Fold  your  arms."  The  direction  was  given  in  the 
teacher's  ordinary  tone. 

"I  can't;  my  elbow's  sore."  As  the  misguided 
boy  flung  the  words  spitefully  out  he  cast  at  his  next 
neighbors  a  leering  smile  which  told  them  to  watch  and 
see  how  the  master  would  fear  to  insist. 

In  fact,  the  master  did  not  then  insist.  What  he 
expected  had  happened.  He  had  been  a  little  anxious 
about  James's  condition,  in  view  of  what  his  father  had 
said,  and  had  been  relieved  to  see  that  the  injury  to  his 
elbow  was  not  serious  enough  to  prevent  the  free  play 
of  the  joint  in  the  sports  of  the  playground.  It  was 
no  part  of  his  design  to  encourage  James  in  a  rebellious 
action  in  order  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  "taking  it  out 
of  him."  His  aim  was  rather  to  draw  to  a  head  the 
morbid  matter  which  he  knew  was  festering  in  his 
heart  and  then  to  heal  the  sore  by  lancing  it.  It  was 
solely  to  this  end  that  he  rang  the  bell.  As  the  students, 
however,  expected  him  to  say  something,  he  spoke  as 
follows,  slowly  walking  down  the  aisle  toward  James's 
seat: 

"Referring  to  the  story  I  told  you  this  morning,  the 
failure  to  close  the  door  made  us  all  a  little  uncom- 
fortable for  a  few  minutes,  but  that  was  a  matter  of 
relatively  small  importance."  By  this  time  he  had 
covered  half  the  distance  to  James's  seat,  without  cast- 


IO8  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

ing  a  single  glance  in  the  boy's  direction.  He  resumed : 
"What  I  would  like  to  have  you  see  is  that  to  form  the 
habit  of  closing  the  door  will  help  you  to  be  exact 
about  everything  you  do  and  the  habit  of  exactness  is 
more  valuable  than  a  money  capital  of  many  thousands 
of  dollars."  The  moment  after  he  said  "dollars," 
James  Wakely  felt  himself  moving  into  the  aisle  and 
toward  the  teacher's  desk,  driven  by  some  extraneous 
force.  His  surprise  was  comparable  to  that  of  Simon 
Legree  when  he  was  knocked  down  by  George  Shel- 
don. When  James,  impelled  by  the  locomotive  behind 
him,  had  reached  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  mas- 
ter's desk,  he  became  conscious  of  a  voice  saying,  sotto 
voce: 

"You  have  heard  about  your  father's  visit  to  me 
last  night,  haven't  you  ?" 

"Yes   sir,"  said  the  trembling  boy. 

"Well,  James,  that  visit  does  not  affect  your  re- 
lations to  me  in  anyway.  Now,  my  boy,  walk  straight 
to  your  seat  and  fold  your  arms  the  moment  you  sit 
down.  If  you  fail  to  do  exactly  as  I  tell  you,  I  shall 
throw  you  out  of  the  window." 

It  was,  perhaps,  unwise  for  Stockley  to  make  this 
threat;  he  so  thought  subsequently  when  he  reflected 
on  the  incident.  But  he  meant  what  he  said  and  was 
determined  to  fulfil  his  promise  in  the  event  of  the 
boy's  disobedience.  Happily,  the  occasion  did  not 
arise.  James's  arms  were  in  the  required  position  a 
little  before  he  was  fairly  seated. 

At  the  close  of  school,  James  again  took  the  nearest 
route  for  home.  Again  he  rushed  into  the  house  and 
called  to  his  mother- 


JAMES  LEARNS  A  VALUABLE  LESSON  IOQ 

"Mother,"  he  cried,  "Mr.  Stockley  has  been  shak- 
ing me  again!" 

"Go  up  town  and  find  your  father,"  was  the  reply, 
"and  tell  him  about  it.  The  fellow  must  have  another 
lesson." 

Away  went  James.  His  father  was,  at  this  time, 
in  the  bank,  and  while  James  is  looking  for  him,  we 
will  relate  the  Doctor's  experience  in  his  interviews 
with  the  school  board. 

Dr.  Wakely's  first  visit,  after  making  his  morning 
professional  calls,  was  to  the  office  of  Squire  Green, 
justice  of  the  peace  and  clerk  of  the  board.  The  Squire 
was  at  liberty  and  his  caller  at  once  proceeded  to  busi- 
ness. 

"I  dropped  in,  Squire,"  he  began,  "to  talk  a  little 
with  you  about  this  new  teacher." 

"Yes,  yes,"  replied  Squire  Green,  "they  tell  me  he's 
keeping  a  pretty  good  school." 

"I  don't  know  about  that ;  it  strikes  me,  Squire,  that 
a  man  that  will  knock  the  children  around  as  this  fel- 
low does,  and  drag  them  all  over  the  floor  has  a  good 
deal  to  learn  about  keeping  school,  to  say  the  least." 

"Oh,  you  mean  the  fracas  he  had  with  the  Blazer 
boy,  he,  he,  he,  he,  he!  Strikes  me  that  bully  didn't 
get  half  what  he  deserved,  if  I've  heard  the  right  of 
it."  Again  the  jolly  Squire  chuckled  at  the  remem- 
brance of  the  scene  as  described  by  his  son  Calvin.  He 
had  heard  all  about  James  Wakely's  trouble  and  the 
Doctor's  failure  at  bullying,  but  he  chose  to  let  the 
latter  tell  the  story  in  his  own  way.  As  for  the  Doctor, 
he  did  not  relish  the  job  he  was  engaged  upon  and 


I IO  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

it  was  solely  in  order  to  purchase  peace  in  his  house- 
hold that  he  had  undertaken  it. 

"No,  I  don't  refer  to  Arthur  Blazer  at  all,"  said  he ; 
"I'm  speaking  of  my  own  boy.  This  blustering  fellow 
has  succeeded  so  well  in  driving  Mr.  Blazer's  son  out 
of  school  that  he  evidently  thinks  he  can  defy  the 
whole  community.  He  has  begun  now  on  my  boy 
James  and  has  terrorized  him  so  that  he  is  afraid  to 
go  to  school." 

"That  is  pretty  bad,  Doctor,"  replied  the  clerk ;  "It 
won't  do  to  have  peaceable  and  well-behaved  children 
driven  out  of  school.  What  appears  to  be  the  trouble?" 

The  Doctor  then  gave  the  school  officer  James's 
version  of  the  encounter  in  the  vestibule  and  expressed 
a  hope  that  the  board  would  give  Stockley  to  under- 
stand that  a  teacher  who  pursued  such  arbitrary  and 
oppressive  methods  could  not  continue  to  hold  a  posi- 
tion as  principal  of  the  Green  Valley  school. 

Squire  Green  listened  courteously  and  assured  Dr. 
Wakely  that  he  would  personally  inquire  into  the  mat- 
ter. He  said,  further,  that  the  school  board  would  try 
to  do  its  duty,  and  that  he  might  rest  assured  no  ar- 
bitrary and  tyrannical  regime  would  be  allowed  to 
prevail  in  the  school.  "I  ought  to  add,  however,  he 
continued,  "that  other  accounts  of  this  affair  have  come 
to  me.  James,  perhaps,  gave  you  what  seemed  to  him 
a  correct  account  of  it,  but  other  scholars  saw  it  dif- 
ferently. Now,  giving  everyone  credit  for  the  inten- 
tion to  state  it  just  right,  it's  easy  to  see  that  it  would 
not  look  quite  the  same  to  one  engaged  in  the  scuffle 
as  it  would  to  an  outsider.  There's  another  thing  to 
be  said.  You  are  probably  aware  that  every  one  of 


JAMES   LEARNS  A   VALUABLE   LESSON  III 

James's  teachers  has  had  trouble  with  him.  This  may 
be  because  no  teacher  has  been  able  to  understand  him 
and  it  might  be  well  for  you  to  consider  whether  the 
boy  is  not — partly,  at  least — in  the  wrong.  Neither 
James  nor  the  teacher  should  be  condemned  without  a 
hearing  of  both  sides." 

The  Doctor  saw  the  reasonableness  of  what  Squire 
Green  said  and  he  felt  in  his  heart  that  James  was 
wholly  wrong.  Thanking  the  Squire  for  his  assur- 
ances, he  withdrew.  His  interview  with  Mr.  Dun- 
donald,  the  district  treasurer,  did  not  improve  James's 
case,  but  he  was  determined  to  make  a  thorough  job  of 
it  by  presenting  his  complaint  to  the  remaining  mem- 
ber, Mr.  Dow.  That  gentleman  probed  the  father's 
wound  with  a  delicate  hand,  but  the  operation  was  a 
painful  one.  The  Doctor  was  thoroughly  disgusted.  He 
determined  to  assert  himself  in  his  home,  and  to  co- 
operate with  Mr.  Stockley,  for  whom  he  had  a  genuine 
esteem,  by  taking  James  in  hand,  himself.  His  short 
interview  with  Mr.  Dow  had  augmented  his  loathing 
for  the  part  he  was  playing  and  when  James  burst  into 
the  door  of  the  bank,  the  condition  of  his  temper 
might  be  appropriately  described  as  ugly.  James,  how- 
ever, knew  nothing  of  his  father's  late  experiences  and 
felt  certain  of  parental  backing. 

"Father,"  he  shouted,  "Mr.  Stockley  has  been  shak- 
ing me  again !" 

—  you,"  burst  out  the  now  thoroughly  irate  fa- 
ther, "you  go  to  school  tomorrow  morning  and  behave 
yourself  and  you'll  have  no  trouble  with  Mr.  Stockley. 
And  don't  bring  home  any  more  whining  stories  about 


112  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

being1  abused  in  school.     If  you  do,  you  and  I  will  have 
a  little  circus  all  to  ourselves !" 

James  was  as  much  surprised  as  he  was  when  the 
teacher  gave  him  his  second  shaking.  He  walked  out 
of  the  bank  a  sadder  boy  because  his  dream  of  wear- 
ing Arthur's  mantle  had  been  shattered ;  he  was  wiser, 
because  he  realized  that  home  and  school  authority  were 
in  co-operation  and  that  he  must  now  walk  in  a  straiter 
path.  When  he  appeared  in  school  the  next  morning 
his  feathers  were  drooping  and  if  there  was  still  a  root 
of  bitterness  in  his  heart,  its  growth  was  not  mani- 
fest in  the  schoolroom.  Stockley  did  not  remind  him 
of  the  episode  by  deed,  word,  or  look  and  the  troubled 
waters  of  school  life  subsided  into  their  wonted  calm. 
So  far  as  James  was  concerned,  the  calm  was  on  the 
surface.  Deep  in  the  unhappy  boy's  heart,  the  root 
of  bitterness  absorbed  nourishing  elements  and  trans- 
muted them  into  poison.  How  from  the  poisonous  root 
there  grew  a  deadly  plant  which  bore  baleful  fruit — 
this  will  be  related  in  another  part  of  our  tale. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HEAVITREE 

A  handsome  house  to  lodge  a  friend; 
A  river  at  my  garden's  end ; 
A  terrace  walk,  and  half  a  rood 
Of  land  set  out  to  plant  a  wood. 

— Jonathan  Swift. 

One  glorious  evening  at  that  season  which  in  Min- 
nesota is  the  most  delightful  of  the  year, — the  season 

"When  chill   November's   surly  blast 
Made  fields  and  forests  bare." 

in  the  land  of  which  the  Ayrshire  Plowman  wrote, — 
on  such  an  evening,  Rutledge  Stockley  found  him- 
self spinning  southward  along  the  Summer  Lake  road, 
behind  a  pair  of  spirited  bay  colts,  and  in  company 
with  his  friend  Harkins,  the  county  superintendent  of 
schools.  It  was  Saturday,  and  the  teacher  was  to  stay 
over  Sunday  at  Mr.  Harkins's  home,  agreeably  to  an 
invitation  of  several  weeks'  standing.  He  had  an- 
nounced to  the  school,  just  before  closing  on  Friday, 
that  he  expected  to  go  out  of  town  and  that  there  was 
a  possibility  of  his  being  detained  beyond  the  time  of 
opening  on  Monday  morning.  "In  case  I  am  absent 
at  nine  o'clock,  Monday  morning,"  he  had  said,  "I  will 
ask  Isaac  Dexter  to  ring  the  bell  and  attend  to  the 
roll  call.  You  may  then  go  on  with  your  studies  until 
my  arrival." 

For  a  few  minutes  after  starting,  Mr.  Harkins's 
attention  was  carefully  occupied  with  getting  his  team 
in  hand,  for  altho  the  colts  were  well  broken,  they 


114  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

were  ambitious  and  full  of  life.  About  half  a  mile 
from  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  the  road  ran,  for  four 
or  five  rods  thru  a  patch  of  timber, — the  trees  on  either 
side  coming  close  to  the  track.  The  horses  had,  by 
this  time,  struck  a  steady  gait,  which  promised  to  land 
them  at  their  destination  in  time  for  a  seven  o'clock 
supper.  They  were  half  way  thru  the  patch  of 
timber,  and  Stockley  had  just  begun  to  address  a  re- 
mark to  his  companion  on  the  beauty  of  the  evening 
(it  was  more  than  an  hour  after  sunset),  when  he 
suddenly  felt  himself  flying  thru  the  air  toward  the 
team.  Fortunately,  he  alighted  on  the  soft  body  of  the 
near  colt,  and  as  he  was  not  hurt,  he  hastened  to  the 
heads  of  the  struggling  animals  (both  of  whom  had 
been  thrown)  in  order  to  either  hold  them  down  or 
clear  them  from  the  harness  in  which  they  seemed  to 
be  entangled.  Again  he  fell,  tripped  by  a  rope  that  had 
been  stretched  across  the  track  some  twenty  inches 
from  the  ground.  It  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  se- 
conds to  produce  his  pocket  knife  and  cut  the  rope. 
That  obstacle  cleared  away,  the  colts  quickly  regained 
their  feet  and  the  younger  man  shouted  to  ask  if  his 
elder  companion  was  hurt.  He  was  much  relieved 
to  find  that  he  was  sitting  securely  on  the  seat  of  the 
buggy  and  had  a  firm  hold  on  the  lines.  He  had  been 
thrown  against  the  dashboard,  but  had  promptly  re- 
covered his  position  without  serious  injury. 

Assured  of  the  safety  of  man  and  team,  Stockley, 
Without  stopping  "to  reason  why,"  darted  into  the 
densest  part  of  the  thicket.  He  had  condensed  into 
the  ten  seconds  consumed  in  finding  his  knife  and 
cutting1  the  rope,  a  fairly  complete  Goursrof  syllogistic 


HEAVITREE  115 

reasoning1,  with  major  premise,  minor  premise,  and 
conclusion,  and  it  was  consequent  upon  his  conclusion 
that  he  shot  into  the  clump  of  trees.  His  ear  caught 
the  sound  of  breaking  twigs  and  rapidly  retreating 
footsteps.  He  redoubled  his  speed,  and  when  he  e- 
merged  from  the  thicket,  he  plainly  saw,  not  more 
than  twenty  paces  ahead  of  him,  the  figures  of  two  men 
or  boys  scurrying  away.  Again  he  increased  his  speed 
and  found  that  he  was  gaining  on  the  fugitives.  There 
was  no  need  to  exhaust  his  strength  by  more  rapid  run- 
ning. The  intervening  space  shrank  to  fifteen  paces, — 
to  ten, —  to  five, — to  two:  he  launched  himself  upon 
the  nearest  one,  whom  he  had  recognized.  "Who  is 
that  with ".  Before  the  completion  of  the  ques- 
tion, the  answer  was  given  in  a  blow  between  the  eyes, 
which  threw  him  to  the  ground.  When  he  recovered 
from  his  daze,  which  lasted  but  a  few  seconds,  his 
assailant  was  so  far  away  that  he  recognized  the  use- 
lessness  of  further  pursuit  and  returned  to  the  buggy. 
"Excuse  me  for  running  away  so  unceremoniously," 
he  said,  as  he  climbed  in;  "I  was  in  hopes  to  secure 
the  party  that  stretched  the  rope  across  the  road,  but 
I  was  disappointed."  Mr.  Harkins  was  of  the  opinion 
that  the  trap  had  been  prepared  for  someone  else  and 
the  subject  was  soon  dismissed  from  their  conversa- 
tion. 

The  silence  that  ensued  was  broken  by  Mr.  Har- 
kins. 

"I  have  heard  something,"  he  said,  "about  your 
'passage  at  arms,'  if  it  may  be  so  called,  with  young 
Wakely,  and  'if  my  gossip  Report  be  an  honest  woman 


Il6  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

of  her  word/  yours  was  'The  victory  of  endurance 
born.' " 

"I  hardly  look  upon  the  incident,"  replied  Stockley, 
"as  a  victory  over  the  boy.  If  this  experience  shall 
aid  James  in  gaining  a  victory  over  himself,  I  shall 
be  well  satisfied." 

"Your  sentiment,  sir,  is  as  rare  as  it  is  creditable  to 
the  one  who  entertains  it.  There  are  few,  sir,  who, 
having  indicated  the  wisdom  of  their  contention  as 
you  have  done,  would  have  failed  to  plume  themselves 
upon  having  won  a  victory.  But  you,  sir,  have,  very 
much  to  your  credit,  exhibited  the  spirit  expressed 
in  Wordsworth's  Ode  to  Duty : 

'Give  unto  me,  made  lowly  wise, 
The  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.' 

and  permit  me  to  assure  you,  sir,  that  Dryden's  ap- 
horism, 'Virtue  is  her  own  reward',  is  every  whit  as 
true  as  it  is  poetical." 

"I  lay  no  claim,  Mr.  Harkins,"  said  Stockley,  "to 
superior  virtue.  My  aim  is  'to  pursue  the  noiseless  ten- 
or' of  my  way,  do  my  duty  as  I  understand  it,  and  let 
the  consequences  take  care  of  themselves." 

"If  you  will  permit  me,  Mr.  Stockley,  I  will  venture 
to  suggest  what  seems  to  me  a  safer  guide  than  your 
doctrine  of  laisses  foire.  It  is  embodied  in  a  maxim 
found  in  the  Gesta  Romanorum:  'Whatever  you  do, 
do  wisely  and  think  of  the  consequences.'  The  zoilean 
tendency  prevalent  in  Green  Valley  is  by  no  means 
peculiar  to  that  community;  it  is  azonic,  and  it  cannot 
with  impunity  be  ignored.  I  trust,  sir,  that  I  am  not 
understood  as  counseling  that  you 


HEAVITREE  117 

'crook  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the  knee 

Where  thrift  may  follow  fawning/ 

but  a  degree  of  deference  to  public  opinion  is  wise, 
not  only  by  way  of  precaution,  but  also  by  way  of  that 
courtesy  which  concedes  to  others  the  same  possibili- 
ty of  being  in  the  right  which  we  claim  for  ourselves." 

"I  quite  agree  with  you,"  replied  Stockley ;  "I  think 
that  a  disposition  to  defer  to  the  opinions  of  other 
people  who  possess  my  confidence  is  characteristic  of 
me.  What  I  intended  to  say  is  that  having  once  deter- 
mined on  a  right  course,  in  the  light  of  my  own  judg- 
ment and  that  of  others  whom  it  seems  safe  to  consult, 
I  ought  to  move  forward  in  that  course,  animated  by 
the  spirit  which  Abraham  Lincoln  expressed  in  his 
New  York  speech :  'Let  us  have  faith  that  right  makes 
might ;  and  in  that  faith  let  us  dare  to  do  our  duty  as 
we  understand  it.' " 

"Well  said !  spoken  like  a  man !  It  is  worth  while 
to  remember,  however,  that  a  wise  general,  while  pur- 
suing relentlessly  an  aggressive  movement,  keeps  him- 
self constantly  on  the  alert.  He  guards  against  not 
only  probable,  but  all  possible  surprise.  His  genius 
manifests  itself  as  much  in  shrewd  conjectures  of  the 
enemy's  plans  as  in  the  formation  of  his  own." 

"I  appreciate  the  point  you  make,"  replied  Stockley, 
"and  I  shall  act  upon  the  suggestion  whenever  I  find 
myself  in  the  presence  of  'the  enemy'.  Green  Valley, 
however,  hardly  seems  to  me  the  enemy's  country.  The 
people  are  apparently  very  friendly  to  me." 

"They  are  certainly  what  they  appear,  Mr.  Stock- 
ley,  but  you  will,  I  trust,  permit  a  word  of  caution. 


Il8  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

You  have,  in  the  exercise  of  your  duty,  placed  Dr, 
Wakely's  son  on  the  defensive,  and,  in  -  view  of  the 
young  man's  peculiar  disposition,  I  may  be  excused  for 
saying,  absents  reo,1  that  an  act  of  treachery  may  be 
expected  from  him  whenever  he  thinks  he  can  embar- 
rass you  by  such  an  act  with  safety  to  himself." 

"Very  true,  very  true,"  said  Stockley,  half  to  him- 
self. 

"That  boy  has  been  reared,"  resumed  the  Superin- 
tendent, "ab  incunabilis2  in  an  environment  of  deceit 
and  mendacity.  This  is  no  reflection  upon  the  father, 
whose  unfortunate  uxoriousness  may  be  regarded  as 
an  amiable  weakness  in  one  who,  in  other  respects,  is 
held  in  high  regard.  If  I  am  correctly  informed,  the 
boy  now  appears  docile  and  submissive.  To  all  ap- 
pearances you  have  succeeded  in  your  effort  to  exsect 
his  spirit  of  insubordination,  but  you  must  remember, 
sir," — at  this  point  the  tilt  of  the  Superintendent's  head 
heralded  a  quotation, — "that  Naturam  e.vpellas  furca>, 
tanicn  usque  recurret.3  On  the  other  hand  there  is 
truth  in  the  saying  of  Marcus  Aureliusr  'There  is 
nothing  Nature  loves  so  well  as  to  change  existing 
forms',  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  can  render  effi- 
cient aid  to  Nature  in  the  evolution  of  the  boy's  char- 
acter. But  your  unpleasant  experiences  have  been 
only  casual.  I  trust  that  your  brief  sojourn  in  Green 
Valley  has  not  been  characterized  exclusively  by 
.  .  .  'harsh  discords  and  unpleasing  sharps.' " 

!In  the  absence  of  the  defendant. 
2From  infancy. 

3You  may  expel  Nature  with  a  pitchfork,  but  she  will  al- 
ways return. 


HEAVITREE  IIQ 

"By  no  means,"  was  the  reply;  "to  say  nothing  of 
the  pleasure  my  school  work  has  given  me,  my  social 
life  has  been  made  very  pleasant  through  the  courtesy 
of  the  people  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet." 

"You  are,  I  suspect,  indebted  quite  as  much  to 
\our  own  talents  as  to  the  good  will  of  others  for  the 
very  flattering  social  position  accorded  you.  Your 
musical  talent  has  been  an  important  factor  in  securing 
for  you  an  entree  into  the  most  desirable  circles  of 
Green  Valley  society.  Your  love  for  music,  sir,  and 
mine  for  poetry  onght  to  form  the  basis  for  a  warm 
and  firm  friendship  between  you  and  myself.  You 
may  be  familiar  with  the  sonnet  written  by  Richard 
Earnfield  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago,  and  which  is 
applicable,  I  hope,  to  you  and  me.  The  opening  verses 
run  like  this'' — here,  the  quotation  tilt — : 
"  'If  Music  and  sweet  Poetry  agree, 

As  they  must  needs,  the  sister  and  the  brother, 
Then  must  the  love  be  great  'twixt  thee  and  me, 
Because  thou  lov'st  the  one,  and  I  the  other.' ' 

The  fourth  verse  is  not  quite  appropriate  to  our 
case,  for  I  am  an  ardent  lover  of  music,  and  I  am  an- 
ticipating a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  listening  to  your 
singing  at  my  home.     'Such   sweet   compulsion   doth 
in  music  lie/  that  I  would  gladly  forgo  the  most  en- 
ticing prandial  pleasures  for  the  sake  of  a  few — 
'Short  swallow-flights  of  song,  that  dip 
Their  wings  in  tears,  and  skim  away.'  " 

"It  will  be  a  pleasure  to  me,"  said  Stockier,  "tc 
exercise  such  gift  of  song  as  I  possess,  if  it  will  grati- 
fy you  to  have  me  do  so." 


I2O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

For  half  a  mile  or  more,  they  rode  in  silence,  quiet- 
ly enjoying  the  crisp  air,  the  soft  light  of  the  moon  and 
stars,  and  the  pleasing  sensation  of  movement  behind 
a  rapid  team,  among  woodland  shadows,  along  the 
borders  of  placid  lakes,  and  past  the  twinkling  lights 
of  roadside  homesteads. 

Stockley  broke  the  silence.  "I  have  never  been 
satisfied,"  he  said,  "with  the  manner  in  which  I  ob- 
tained my  first-grade  certificate.  My  possesssion  of 
it  is  due  more  to  your  good  nature  than  to  my  merit. 
However,  I  am  pursuing  a  course  of  study,  by  which 
I  hope  to  fortify  myself  for  examination  before  a 
more  exacting  superintendent,  should  fate  deprive 
Anita  County  of  your  services  before  the  expiration  of 
the  certificate  I  now  hold." 

"With  whom  are  you  studying?"  asked  Mr.  Har- 
kins. 

"Oh,"  laughed  Stockley,  "I  can't  brag  of  my  pre- 
ceptor,— his  name  is  Rutledge  Stockley." 

"What  are  you  trying  to  do  in  the  line  of  self-in- 
struction ?" 

"Well,  I  am  ciphering  through  an  arithmetic  and 
an  algebra,  and  I  have  completed  two  books  in  plane 
geometry,  which  is  a  new  study  for  me." 

"Do  you  not  often  need  the  aid  of  a  teacher?" 

"I  would,  perhaps,  often  ask  the  aid  of  one  if  I 
had  one,  but  I  am  convinced  that  I  have  a  better  hold 
upon  what  I  learn,  for  digging  it  out  unaided.  If 
I  fail  at  the  first  attempt,  I  make  a  second,  a  third,  and 
so  on  up  to  the  fiftieth.  I  walk  out  on  country  roads 
in  the  evening,  going  over  my  geometrical  demon- 
strations. The  stone  quarry  road  is  a  favorite  path. 


HEAVITREE  121 

I  sometimes  walk  nearly  to  the  quarry  and  back  before 
my  auto-recitation  is  finished.  I  can  now  demonstrate 
every  proposition  in  the  first  two  books  of  plane  ge- 
ometry, without  the  aid  of  a  visible  figure." 

"Your  course  is  admirable,"  said  the  superinten- 
dent, "but  it  is  not  a  common  one.  I  have  heard  many 
teachers  excuse  their  ignorance  of  certain  branches 
on  the  ground  that  they  had  no  opportunity  to  study 
them  in  school.  I  shall  hereafter  cite  your  case  if 
you  do  not  object,  as  proof  of  my  contention  that  one 
m?.y  attain  to  high  excellence  in  business,  politics,  the 
teaching  profession,  in  short,  in  any  activity  of  life 
with  very  limited  school  advantages.  Your  name,  of 
course  would  not  appear." 

"I  think  I  must  withhold  my  consent,"  said  Stock- 
ley;  I  have  not  yet  attained  to  'high  excellence'  in 
anything  I  have  undertaken,  and  you  would  therefore 
be  unable  to  justify  your  claim  for  me.  Moreover,  I 
am  keenly  conscious  of  my  lack  of  that  rounding  out 
which  is  an  important  part  of  college  culture,  and  for 
that  reason  I  would  not  willingly  be  the  indirect  means 
of  keeping  any  earnest  student  from  availing  himself 
of  college  or  university  privileges." 

"You  are,  perhaps,  over  modest,"  commented  Mr. 
Harkins,  "but  there  is  an  element  of  truth  in  what 
you  say.  To  revert  to  the  cases  of  James  Wakely,  suf- 
fer an  additional  word  of  counsel  before  the  termina- 
tion of  our  journey  shall  bring  our  delightful  and  con- 
fidential conversation  to  a  conclusion.  I  have  already 
cautioned  you  to  beware  of  a  possible  act  of  treachery 
on  this  boy's  part.  It  has  come  to  me  in  very  indefinite 
form, — in  fact,  through  'the  babbling  gossip  of  the  air/ 


122  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

that  he  is  maturing  some  plan  for  doing  you  up  to  a- 
dopt  an  expression  he  was  overheard  to  employ.  It  is 
reasonably  certain  that  he  will  be  exceedingly  cautious 
with  regard  to  overt  acts  of  insubordination  in  school, 
and  also  that  you  may  hereafter  be  sure  of  his  father's 
support  in  any  measure  your  judgment  may  suggest. 
In  view  of  these  facts  my  counsel  is  that  at  the  next 
appearance  of  a  mutinous  spirit,  however  slight,  it  be 
expelled  by  the  infliction  of  'corporal  sufferance.'  I 
am  cognizant  of  your  aversion  to  the  employment  of 
the  rod,  and  I  concede  that  its  use  often  degenerates 
into  a&use,  but  'abusus  non  tollit  usum,'1  and  if  it  be 
applied  until  he  surrender  absque  ulla  conditioned 
the  tendency  will  be  to  discourage  his  plotting  against 
your  safety  with  any  person  outside  the  school.  A- 
mong  the  sagacious  utterances  of  Edmund  Burke, 
there  is  none  more  worthy  of  heed  than  this :  that 
'Early  and  provident  fear  is  the  mother  of  safety'." 

Stockley  promised  that  he  would  give  due  con- 
sideration to  the  superintendent's  friendly  counsel  and 
thanked  him  for  his  kindly  interest. 

They  were  soon  passing  over  the  Harkins  farm,  the 
land  in  which,  as  its  owner  explained,  was  "an  aren- 
ulous  loam  with  an  argillaceous  subsoil."  He  had 
named  his  homestead  Heavitree,  after  the  birthplace 
of  Richard  Hooker, — the  name  having  been  suggested 
in  part  by  the  growth  of  massive  oaks  and  cottonwoods 
on  his  wood  lot.  One  of  his  sons  took  charge  of  the 
colts  as  the  two  men  alighted  and  entered  the  hall. 


The  abuse  of  a  thing  is  no  argument  against  its  use. 
Unconditionally. 


HEAVITREE  123 

Mr.  Harkins  laid  his  hand  on  Stockley's  shoulder  as 
the  latter  stepped  into  the  door,  and  giving  his  head 
the  quotation  tilt  said :  "My  friend,  this  is  no  spacious 
mansion.  Heavitree  is  very  well  described  in  Rob- 
ert Herrick's  'Thanksgiving  for  a  House': 

'A  little  house,  whose  humble  roof 
Is   weather-proof. 

Low  is  my  porch,  as  is  my  fate, 
Both  void  of  state. 

Like  as  my  parlor,  so  my  hall 
And  kitchen's  small 

Some  little  sticks  of  thorn  or  briar 

Make  me  a  fire, 
Gose  by  whose  living  coal  I  sit, 

And  glow  like  it'." 

The  good  cheer  enjoyed  by  the  guest  at  Heavitree 
need  not  be  described  in  detail.  After  a  bounteous 
farm-supper,  the  evening  was  passed  in  conversation 
and  music,  in  which  Stockley  joined,  with  Mrs.  liar- 
kins,  her  daughter  and  two  sons,  the  host  smoking  and 
talking  between  whiffs.  "Sna  cuiqne  volitptas,"1  he 
explained  as  he  lighted  his  pipe,  "and  as  you  do  not  in- 
dulge in  the  fragrant  weed,  I  must  e'en  take  my  to- 
bacco as  the  Ancient  Mariner  finished  his  voyage — 

'Alone,  alone, — all,  all  alone'." 
Had   Stockley  possessed  an  ear  sensitive  to  tele- 
x.    Everyone  has  his  own  pleasures. 


124  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

audition,  his  enjoyment  of  the  visit  to  Heavitree 
would  have  been  disturbed.  While  he  was  enjoying 
the  pleasures  of  social  intercourse  with  congenial 
friends,  two  conspirators  twelve  miles  away  were  en- 
gaged in  the  inception  of  a  plot  which  boded  a  violent 
close  to  his  career. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  RIVER  BELLE 

"The  sky  is  changed, — and  such  a  change !    O  night 
And  storm  and  darkness !    Ye  are  wondrous  strong." 

— Byron. 

The  new  dry-goods  store  of  Cole  and  Burns,  on 
the  corner  of  Wilder  Avenue  and  a  mid-block  alley,  was 
nearing  completion.  Harry  Dole  had  been  painting 
the  woodwork  in  the  basement  of  the  new  store.  Doors 
in  the  front  of  the  basement  opened  into  an  area  under 
the  sidewalk  and  the  area  was  partially  covered  with  an 
iron  grating  which  formed  the  part  of  the  sidewalk 
lying  next  to  the  building.  The  area  and  the  grating 
above  it  extended  around  the  corner  for  some  distance 
on  the  alley.  On  the  evening  of  Stockley's  visit  at 
Heavitree,  Harry  started  home  from  Loring's  grocery 
a  little  before  ten  o'clock.  His  thoughts  naturally 
turned  to  the  scene  of  his  daily  work  and  it  occurred  to 
him  that  he  had  left  a  front  basement  door  open.  As 
it  would  not  be  out  of  his  road  to  pass  the  new  store, 
he  turned  his  steps  that  way. 

Unlocking  the  door  and  closing  it  behind  him,  he 
felt  his  way  to  the  basement  stairway.  It  was  very 
dark,  and  he  searched  his  vest  pocket  in  vain  for  a 
match.  Crossing  the  basement  floor,  he  found  that,  as 
he  had  conjectured,  the  door  had  been  left  open.  He 
had  reached  his  hand  out  to  close  it,  when  he  thought 
he  heard  a  voice  coming  from  the  area  under  the  side- 
walk. The  tones  were  subdued  and  he  did  not  at  first 
distinguish  any  words.  He  leaned  forward  so  as  to 


126  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

bring  his  head  into  the  opening  and  turned  his  ear  in 
the  direction  of  the  sound.  He  then  perceived  that  it 
came  from  the  direction  of  the  sidewalk  above.  He 
tiptoed  into  the  area  and,  guided  by  the  voice,  made 
his  way  to  the  corner  of  the  stone  basement.  Looking 
upward  he  saw,  dimly  outlined  against  the  starry  sky, 
the  forms  of  two  men  or  boys  sitting  on  the  grating 
with  their  backs  against  the  side  of  the  store.  They 
had  selected  the  side  that  was  in  shadow  and  which  bor- 
dered the  dark  alley.  The  darkness  and  their  distance 
from  the  street  protected  them  from  the  observation 
of  passers.  Harry  could  now  hear  every  word  of  the 
conversation  and  he  soon  found  himself  extremely  in- 
terested in  what  he  heard. 

"Of  course  they  can't,"  was  the  first  thing  he  heard, 
"we're  fur  'nough  fr'm  the  street  so't  ther'  can't  no- 
body see  us*  'n'  b'sides  th'  ain't  many  people  goin' 
past  here  anyway."  The  voice  was  gruff  but  the  tone? 
were  subdued  apparently  by  strong  effort. 

"They  might  hear  us,"  replied  another  voice  in  a 
very  low  and  slightly  trembling  tone. 

"'No  they  won't;  we  c'n  hear  'em  comin'  long 
b'fore  they  git  to  the  corner  'n'  then  we'll  lay  low  'n' 
stop  talkin'  t'll  they  git  past." 

"All  right  Art,  but  I  wouldn't  want  to  be  caught 
here  with well,  it  would  be kind  of ." 

"Say  it  right  out,  Jim, you  wouldn't  want  to  be 

caught  talkin'  with  me.  That's  all  right.  Yer  dear 
teacher  'd  warm  ye  good  'n'  strong  ef  he  knew  ye  ever 
had  anythin'  t'  say  t'  me." 

Harry  Dole  had  by  this  time  recognized  the  voices 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  1 27 

and  the  names  of  the  speakers,  and  he  became  doubly 
alert. 

"No  he  would  n't,"  was  the  reply;  "he  can't  do  it 
anyway." 

"O,  I  guess  he  can  all  right,  only  ye  dasn't 
give  'im  a  chance.  They  say  ye're  as  meek  as  Moses 
sence  he  yanked  ye  up  on  the  floor  the  other  day." 

Here,  an  approaching  step  was  heard  and  the  con- 
versation was  suspended  until  it  had  passed  and  had 
died  away  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  gruff  voice 
resumed : 

"Ef  ye  was's  good  at  fightin'  's  ye  be  't  sprintin', 
lord  ye'd  be  a  corker.  Gosh!  ye  lit  over  the  ground 
like  a  jack  rabbit  when  Stockley  took  after  us  to-night." 

"You  did  some  pretty  swift  running  too,  Art." 

"Course  I  did.  I  didn't  want  our  little  game  spoiled 
by  havi'i'  him  find  out  who  we  was,  so  I  stayed  behind 
V  knocked  the  everlasting  stuffin'  out  of  'im.  Gosh! 
I  guess  he  had  a  chance  to  study  'stronermy  fer  'bout 
a  minute  when  my  fives  landed  on  'is  peepers." 

"Did  you  knock  him  down  ?" 

"You  bet  I  did." 

"Did  he  get  up  again?" 

"Dunno  whether  'e  did  'r  not ;  I  didn't  stay  t'  raise 
'im." 

"I  hope  you  didn't  kill  him." 

"Don't  fret  yer  gizzard  'bout  that.  He'll  be  bossin' 
ye  'round  ag'in  Monday  mornin'  as  chipper  as  a  ban- 
tam rooster." 

"Do  you  think  he  recognized  us  to-night?" 

"Not  on  yer  life.  I  knocked  'im  silly  b'fore  he  c'd 
see  my  face." 


128  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

"Well,  Art,  I  must  be  going.  If  father  looks  into 
my  room  and  finds  I'm  not  there,  there'll  be  the  Old 
Harry  to  pay." 

As  James  Wakely  said  this  he  made  a  movement  to 
rise,  but  was  promptly  grasped  by  the  collar  and 
jerked  back. 

"No  ye  don't,  Jim,  my  boy ;  I  won't  be  thru  with 
ye  fer  two  hours  yit.  I  want  to  have  a  long  talk  with 
ye." 

"Art,  I've  just  got  to  go.  If  father  catches  me  out 
he'll  ask  all  sorts  of  questions.  Of  course  I  wouldn't 
tell  him  anything,  but  his  suspicions  would  be  aroused, 
and  he  might  make  us  lots  of  trouble.  You  know  he 
thinks  Stockley's  all  right  now." 

Arthur  seemed  impressed  with  James's  reason  for 
going.  Without  releasing  his  companion's  collar,  he 
pondered  a  few  moments. 

"Well,  Jim,"  he  said  at  last,  "I've  got  to  have  a 
talk  with  ye  right  away.  Meet  me  t'mor'  night,  'n'  I 
guess  that'll  do." 

"Tomorrow's  Sunday,  you  know." 

"Well,  Sissy,  you'll  be  out  o'  Sunday  school  before 
night  won't  you?  Here,  Jim,  you  go  to  bed  early 
t'mor'  night  'n'  wait  till  yer  father  goes  to  bed.  Then 
you  drop  out  o'  the  window  down  a  rope  'n'  come  to 
me  'n'  I'll  tell  ye  what  I  want  of  ye." 

"All  right,  Art,  I'll  be  on  hand.  Where  shall  I 
meet  you  ?" 

"Wai,  "said  Arthur,  "it  wont  do  to  meet  here  agin ; 
it's  too  dangerous.  What  time  '11  ye  come?" 

"Well,  father  never  goes  to  bed  before  ten  o'clock." 

"I'll  tell  ye  what  ye  do,  Jim;  you  meet  me  t'mior' 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  12<) 

night  at  eleven  o'clock  at  the  River  Belle.  I've  got 
somethin'  up  my  sleeve  for  Mr.  Rutledge  Stockley  that 
'11  give  'im  a  higher  position  in  this  burg  than  he  ever 
had  before." 

There  was  a  silence  of  several  seconds. 

"Wai,  what  ye  goin'  to  do?"  demanded  Arthur  in 
a  peremptory  tone. 

"I'll  be  there,"  was  the  trembling  reply. 

"Swear  it." 

"I  swear  it." 

"Say  'I  hope  to  drop  dead  tomorror  night  ef  I  don't 
do  everything  I've  promised  to  do.'  " 

The  imprecation  was  falteringly  repeated. 

"Now  you  get  out  o'  the  alley  'n'  start  fer  home. 
I'll  stay  here  till  you're  out  o'  the  way." 

James  reached  his  room  by  way  of  the  back  stairs 
before  his  father  had  retired  and  Arthur  crept  stealthily 
out  of  the  alley  soon  after  James  had  started.  Twenty 
minutes  later  Harry  Dole  emerged  from  the  front 
door  of  the  new  store  and  walked  rapidly  to  his  home. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  According  to  his  custom, 
Harry  Dele  attended  Morning  Prayer  at  the  Episcopal 
Church,  where  he  was  interested  in  seeing  James 
Wakely,  devoutly  kneeling,  responding,  sitting,  and 
rising  as  prescribed  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
After  dinner  Harry  left  the  house,  telling  his  aged 
mother  that  he  was  going  for  a  walk.  By  an  indirect 
route  he  reached  a  point  on  the  river  bluff  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  outskirts  of  the  village. 
Here  he  turned  into  a  dense  wood  which  covered  the 
slope  of  the  bluff  and  descended  to  the  river.  He  soon 
reached  a  narrow  strip  of  shore  on  which  rested  the 


I3O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

bow  of  a  small  dilapidated  steamboat,  her  stern  lying 
in  the  water.  The  spot  was  a  secluded  one,  being 
screened  from  observation  by  the  wooded  bluff  and  a 
bend  in  the  river. 

The  boat  had  been  used  for  several  seasons  in  re- 
moving snags  from  the  river  and  had  been  abandoned  on 
the  failure  of  congressional  appropriations  for  continu- 
ing the  work.  The  after  part  of  the  boat  was  covered 
over  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  cabin  which  had  been 
used  as  a  tool  house,  dining  room,  and  sleeping  quar- 
ters for  the  crew.  From  the  forward  part  of  the  cabin 
rose  the  pilot  house  on  the  sides  of  which  was  printed 
the  name  of  the  craft— RIVER  BELLE. 

Harry  climbed  to  the  deck  and  entered  the  cabin 
of  the  River  Belle.  The  sides  were  lined  with  bunks. 
The  room  was  nearly  empty.  A  rusty  stovepipe  which 
ran  out  of  a  hole  aft  had  a  vertical  section  reaching 
within  about  four  and  a  half  feet  of  the  floor.  An 
elbow  and  two  or  three  lengths  of  pipe  lay  in  one  of 
the  bunks.  The  pipe  interested  Harry.  In  one  place 
he  found  that  two  lengths  were  slightly  apart  and  he 
pressed  them  firmly  together.  Mounting  to  the  deck, 
he  leaned  over  the  stern  and  examined  the  projecting 
stove  pipe.  Going  back  to  the  cabin,  he  fitted  the 
extra  elbow  into  a  section  of  pipe  and  returning  fixed 
them  to  the  projecting  portion  so  as  to  make  the  open 
end  of  the  upright  length  extend  downward  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  water.  Examining  his  com- 
pleted work,  he  nodded  his  head  and  smiled,  muttering, 
"I  guess  that'll  fix  the  thing  all  right." 

As  he  jumped  off  the  boat  to  return  to  town,  his 
eye  caught  a  pile  of  cracker  boxes  which  had  belonged 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  13! 

to  the  victualing  department  of  the  River  Belle  before 
she  was  put  out  of  commission.  He  looked  at  them 
thoughtfully  for  a  few  moments,  then  quickly  threw 
two  of  them  aboard  and  climbed  up  to  the  deck  again, 
taking  with  him  a  good-sized  stone  which  he  had  se- 
lected after  a  short  search  on  the  shore.  He  easily 
found  some  rusty  nails  on  deck,  and  taking  the  boxes 
into  the  cabin  he  nailed  them  securely  to  the  floor,  us- 
ing the  stone  as  a  hammer.  He  had  placed  the  boxes 
four  feet  apart  on  opposite  sides  of  a  point  directly  un- 
der the  vertical  section  of  stove  pipe.  He  then  looked 
slowly  around  as  if  to  think  whether  he  could  do  any- 
thing more  to  contribute  to  the  comfort  of  expected 
guests.  Apparently  satisfied  with  his  preparations,  he 
again  leaped  ashore  and  returned  home,  retracing  the 
route  he  had  taken  in  approaching  the  river. 
1  He  remained  quietly  at  home  until  half  past  nine 
in  the  evening,  when  he  again  went  out,  wearing  a 
waterproof  coat  and  rubber  boots  (  for  a  heavy  rain  was 
falling)  and  taking  with  him  half  a  dozen  padlock  keys 
from  a  pan  of  odds  and  ends  in  the  barn. 

By  ten  o'clock,  he  was  half  a  mile  up  the  river  fitting 
a  key  to  the  padlock  which  secured  a  stout  skiff  to  a 
stake  on  the  bank  and  a  few  moments  later  he  was 
floating  down  a  madly-rushing  river,  enveloped  in 
black  darkness.  By  some  mysterious  sense  he  knew 
when  he  passed  the  village.  Had  he  been  asked  how 
he  managed  to  draw  in  to  the  shore  so  as  to  run  just 
under  the  stern  of  the  River  Belle,  he  could  only  have 
replied :  "I  jest  knew  that  was  the  place, — I  sort  o' 
seen  th'  ole  Belle  'thout  seein'  of  'er."  He  quickly 
caught  hold  of  the  steering  gear  of  the  Belle  and  with 


132  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

some  difficulty  secured  the  boat  to  it.  Reaching  his 
hand  upward,  he  was  pleased  to  find  the  exterior  verti- 
cal section  of  stovepipe  about  where  he  had  planned  to 
have  it,  that  is,  over  the  center  of  his  boat.  He  was 
now  ready  for  business.  No  sound  was  to  be 
heard  but  the  steadily  falling  rain,  and  Har- 
ry composed  himself  to  wait  for  the  balance  of  the  jun- 
to of  which  he  had  elected  himself  an  honorary  mem- 
ber. 

Fully  half  an  hour  passed  when  suddenly  there 
came  to  the  listener  a  distinct  sound  of  stumbling  and 
falling,  followed  by  an  angry  oath.  Harry  was 
promptly  on  his  feet  with  his  ear  at  the  open  end  of 
the  stove  pipe.  In  a  few  seconds  the  pipe  brought  to 
him  a  single  word  in  a  rough  but  carefully  modulat- 
ed voice. 

"Jim?" 

There  was  no  reply. 

James  Wakely  performed  his  religious  duties  that 
Sabbath  day  with  unaccustomed  fidelity.  He  remained 
quietly  at  home  all  the  afternoon,  reading  the  latest 
number  of  The  Churchman. 

After  dark  he  smuggled  a  stout  rope  into  his  room 
from  the  barn  and  made  one  end  fast  to  his  bed  post. 
A  remarkably  interesting  book  detained  him  in  the 
sitting  room  until  the  rest  of  the  family  had  retired 
and  he  soon  afterwards  went  to  his  room.  Carefully 
opening  his  bedroom  window  afer  a  half  hour  inter- 
val, he  slid  down  the  rope  and  reached  the  ground  in 
safety. 

The  misguided  youth  did  not  feel  like  a  conspirator 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  133 

such  as  he  had  read  of  in  that  renowned  work  "The 
Bravo  of  Venice.''  He  felt  rather  like  a  forlorn,  bul- 
lied, and  soon-to-be-bedraggled  naughty  boy.  And  be- 
sides all  this  his  conscience  troubled  him. 

It  is  remarkable  how  the  activity  of  conscience  in- 
creases as  danger  and  difficulties  accumulate  in  the 
path  of  a  nefarious  schemer.  James  Wakely's  spirit 
was  not  composed  of  the  stuff  that  plotters,  even  of 
the  yellow  novel  variety  are  made  of.  He  lacked  cour- 
age, steadfastness,  and  initiative.  In  his  relation  to 
Arthur  Blazer  he  might  be  likened  to  a  trembling, 
half-drowned  mouse  tossed  about  and  bitten  by  a  play- 
ful cat. 

James  had  taken  an  umbrella  with  him,  but  the 
wind  turned  it  wrong  side  out  before  he  had  gone 
twenty  paces  from  his  father's  gate,  and  after  trying 
in  vain  to  restore  it,  he  dropped  it  over  a  fence  into  a 
neighbor's  yard.  It  was  not  a  favorable  night  for 
pedestrians  but  he  encountered  two,  and  in  each  case 
he  made  a  wide  detour  through  the  mud  of  the  street 
to  avoid  being  seen.  Before  reaching  the  river  the 
cold  rain  had  wet  him  to  the  skin.  His  conviction 
was  strong  that  he  was  very  culpable  in  lending  him- 
self to  anything  that  would  injure  his  teacher,  who 
had  only  the  best  feeling  for  him.  He  threaded  his 
way  along  a  narrow,  winding  path  overhung  with 
branches  of  trees  and  bordered  by  hazel  bushes  which 
gave  him  innumerable  chilling  shower  baths  as  his 
hat  and  his  coat  disturbed  them.  The  belief  forced 
itself  upon  him  that  it  was  positively  wicked  for  him 
to  consort  with  a  ruffian  like  Arthur  Blazer.  In  the 
cabin  of  the  River  Belle,  he  would  at  least  be  shelter 


134  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

ed,  he  thought,  from  the  pelting  rain,  and  the  thought 
quickened'  his  pace.  Just  as  he  broke  into  a  run  where 
the  path  seemed  clear,  his  toe  caught  a  projecting 
root  and  he  measured  his  full  length  upon  the  soggy 
ground.  When  he  arose,  with  the  mud  clinging  to 
his  hands  and  dripping  from  his  face,  his  heart  was 
filled  with  a  sense  of  the  enormity  of  his  contemplated 
villainy  and  an  impulse  seized  him  to  return  home,  re- 
nounce his  evil  companion  and  his  works,  and  be- 
come a  sober,  honest,  dutiful,  obedient,  studious  boy. 
But  there  was  Arthur  to  reckon  with,  who  was 
doubtless  already  waiting  for  him  at  the 
River  Belle,  now  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve 
rods  away;  and — more  terrible — there  was  his  oath. 
The  latter  consideration  braced  up  his  vacillating  con- 
science and  he  plunged  forward.  Five  minutes  later 
Arthur  was  pulling  him  up  to  the  deck  of  the  River 
Belle  and  the  two  boys  entered  the  cabin. 

"Say,  Art,"  said  James  in  a  half  whisper,  "I'll  catch 
my  death  o'  cold  if  I  stay  here,  and  besides  I  don't 
really  like — " 

"Speak  up  so't  I  c'n  hear  ye,"  interrupted  Arthur, 
with  no  effort  to  soften  his  voice.  "What  is  it  ye 
don't  reely  like  '?" 

"Well,  you  see,  it  seems  a  little  dangerous  for  us 
to  be  planning  to  injure  a  citizen  of  Minnesota,  and — " 

"O,  you  go  and  soak  yer  head,"  exclaimed  the  dis- 
gusted chief.  "Ye  can't  back  out  now,  V  you're 
goin'  t'  do  your  share,  ye  c'n  jist  set  that  down  whare 
ye  won't  fergit  it." 

After  some  groping  in  the  dark  to  find  a  place  to 
sit  down,  Arthur  ran  against  the  cracker  boxes  and 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  135 

the  boys  were  soon  seated  on  them,  facing1  each  other. 

"Oo-oo-oo,"  shuddered  James,  "I  wish  we  could 
have  a  fire;  I'm  chilled  through  and  through!"  His 
chattering1  teeth  bore  testimony  to  the  truth  of  what 
he  said. 

"Here,  take  a  sup  o'  this,"  said  Arthur,  drawing 
a  flask  from  his  pocket  and  pushing-  it  through  the 
darkness  into  the  shaking  hand  of  his  vis-a-vis. 

A  long1  gurgling  sound  was  sufficient  evidence  that 
the  offer  of  refreshment  was  accepted.  Arthur  took 
the  bottle  back  and  returned  it  to  his  pocket  without 
tasting  its  contents.  Drinking  was  not  one  of  his  vic- 
es. 

"Now,"  resumed  the  archconspirator,  "ther  ain't  no 
need  'f  us  stayin'  here  very  long.  I  come  here  so't  we 
c'd  talk  'thout  nobody  seein'  'r  hearin'  us,  'n'  ye  don't 
wan' t'  be  'fraid  t'  talk  right  up." 

"I'm  not  afraid,"  was  the  prompt  reply.  James 
was  growing  warm.  His  shivering  had  nearly  ceas- 
ed ;  his  courage  was  rising  and  his  conscience  was 
quieting  down. 

"All  right,"  resumed  Arthur.  "Ef  ye  ain't  'fraid 
you  won't  be  scart  o'  doin'  your  share  in  comin'  up  'th 
Stockley,  'nd  I  had  ye  come  here  t'  night  to  tell  ye 
what  your  share  is.  Now,  Jim  Wakely,  what  I  wan' 
t'  know  is,  whether  you're  goin'  into  this  bus'ness  fer 
all  yer  worth,  'r  whether  yer  goin'  to  hold  back  'n'  be 
sulky  'n'  mean  *bout  it." 

"Art,"  exclaimed  James,  "I'm  right  with  you. 
Stockley  has  held  me  up  to  ridicule  before  the  entire 
school  and  I'm  ready  to  do  anything  to  show  that  I 


136  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

can't  be  treated  in  that  way,  and  he  go  scot  free.  Say, 
— give  me  another  little  sup  of  that  whiskey ;  I  feel  just 
a  little  chilly  yet." 

The  bottle  was  produced,  and  James  inverted  it 
over  his  backward-tilted  head.  The  gurgle  that  en- 
sued seemed  likely  to  continue  indefinitely,  but  it  was 
suddenly  interrupted  by  Arthur,  who  seized  the  bottle 
and  drew  it  away. 

"I  ain't  goin'  t'  have  you  gittin'  drunk,"  he  remark- 
ed, "V  haf  t'  be  carried  home  V  wake  yer  folks  up 
gittin'  into  the  house  'n'  give  the  hull  thing  away." 

"That's  right,  Arthur,"  replied  James,  cheerfully. 
"I  know  when  I've  had  enougli." 

"So  do  I"  growled  Arthur,  "now  listen  to  me. 
You  and  me  's  goin'  to  blow  that  schoolmaster  up." 

"Blow  him  up?" 

"Yes,  blow  'im  up — that's  what  I  said ;  we're  goin' 
to  blow  him  'n'  'is  chair  'n'  'is  desk  'n'  the  hull  shoot'n 
match  right  up  t'  the  top  o'  the  school  house." 

"How  are  you  going  to  do  it?"  asked  James. 

"You  mean  how 're  we  goin'  to  do  it — that's  what  ye 
mean,  ain't  it?" 

"Why,  yes,  Arthur,  of  course  that's  what  I  mean, 
and  I  want  you  to  understand,  Arthur,  that  I  am  with 
you  heart  and  hand,  in  this  business."  James  was 
quite  sincere  in  his  asseveration.  A  genial  warmth 
pervaded  his  system;  his  courage  was  high;  he  re- 
garded Arthur  as  the  prince  of  good  fellows ;  and  his 
conscience  heartily  approved  what  it  would  have  reso- 
lutely vetoed  half  an  hour  before.  It  is  remarkable 
how  the  voice  of  conscience  changes  with  changes  of 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  137 

environment.  Propositions  which  in  discouraging- 
circumstances  it  turns  down  in  gruffest  notes  are  ap- 
proved in  dulcet  tones  under  the  influence  of  agreeable 
animal  sensations  from  without  and  within.  James 
was  now  thoroughly  committed  to  any  scheme  Arth- 
ur might  be  pleased  to  propose —  even  before  learning 
its  details.  How  his  conscience  would  have  goaded 
him  again  if  in  the  light  of  some  magical  X  ray,  he 
could  have  seen  his  voice  and  Arthur's  rise  eighteen 
inches  in  the  vertical  stovepipe  opening  directly  over 
their  heads,  travel  through  the  horizontal  section  to  the 
elbow  outside,  and  then  drop,  clear  and  strong  into 
Harry  Dole's  attentive  ear.  The  pipe  made  a  perfect 
speaking  tube  and  Harry  was  delighted  with  the  suc- 
cess of  his  afternoon  tinkering.  But  of  this  both 
James  and  Arthur  were  blissfully  unconscious. 

James's  declaration  of  allegiance  was  just  what 
Arthur  had  counted  on  when  he  had  administered  the 
stimulant.  His  aim  now  was  to  accomplish  two  things 
before  the  spirit  evoked  by  the  liquor  had  subsided, — 
to  get  James's  full  approval  of  his  scheme  and  to  ob- 
tain his  written  promise  to  support  it. 

"You're  the  right  stuff,"  said  he,  "now  here's  our 
plan.  I've  managed  to  git  a  twenty-five  pound  keg 
K>'  blastin'  powder  from  the  quarry.  We're  goin'  t' 
put  that  anunder  the  schoolhouse  whair  th'  master's 
desk  is,  V  then  we're  goin'  to  run  a  fuse  back  to  your 
desk,  'n'  then  you're  goin'  to  touch  it  off  'n'  blow  ol' 
Stockley  up  to  the  ceilin'." 

"But  that  will  blow  me  up  and  the  whole  school." 

"No,  it  won't;  we'll  loosen  a  board  anunder  your 


138  THE  GREEN   VALLEY  SCHOOL 

desk  'n'  have  the  fuse  come  just  anunder  it  'n'  you'll 
just  lift  the  board  'n'  strike  a  match  'n'  set  fire  to  it 
when  the  scholars  's  marchin'  out  when  school  lets  out 
'n  the  afternoon,  'n'  then  you'll  march  out  behind  the 
rest  's  big  's  life,  'n'  five  minutes  after,  bang !  goes  the 
powder,  'n'  up  goes  mister  dude,  'n'  me  'n'  you'll  be 
watchin'  the  fun  from  the  hay  loft  by  Baldritt's 
barn  acrost  the  street." 

"But  you  don't  — er — we  don't  want  to  kill  him." 

"Thunder!  no,  that  won't  kill  'im.  It'll  jest  sur- 
prise 'im,  ha!  ha!  'n'  turn  'im  over  'n'  over  three  or 
four  times,  'n'  scorch  'is  close  'n'  'is  hair  a  little,  ha! 
ha !  ha !  'n'  it'll  learn  'im  who  to  monkey  with.  Gosh ! 
I  c'n  see  'im  now  a  leggin'  out  o'  that  schoolhouse  's 
if  the  devil  was  after  'im,  'is  close  a  smokin'  'n'  him  a- 
hollerin'  fer  help,  ha !  ha !  ha !  ha !  ha !"  . 

"How  are  you — we  going  to  get  the  powder  and 
the  fuse  under  the  schoolhouse?"  asked  James. 

"I'll  see  to  that.  I  hain't  been  layin'  'round  doin' 
nothin'.  I  know  all  'bout  how  that  schoolhouse  's  made. 
The  joice  anunder  the  floor  runs  lengthways  from  the 
front  t'  the  back,  'n'  ye  c'n  crawl  in  anunder  the  front 
door  steps,  'n'  have  a  clear  space  to  put  the  powder 
keg  'n'  run  the  fuse  back  t'  your  desk.  We'll  haf  t' 
build  a  wall  all  'round  the  keg  t'  keep  the  strength  of 
the  powder  f r'm  scatterin',  but  I'll  do  all  that ;  all  you've 
got  t'  do  is  t'  set  fire  t'  the  fuse  when  the  time  conies." 

"Are  you  sure  we  won't  be  committing  murder  in 
doing  this  ?"  anxiously  asked  James. 

"Sure  we  won't.  I've  studied  it  all  out.  It'll  only 
give  'im  a  good  scare." 


THE  RIVER  BELLE  139 

Arthur  really  believed  what  he  said  but  he  was 
laboring  under  a  terrible  mistake.  In  pursuing  his  in- 
quiries upon  the  effects  of  blasting  powder  he  had  ex- 
ercised great  caution  and  had  drawn  erroneous  con- 
clusions from  the  fragments  of  facts  he  had  learned. 
He  had  not  dared,  of  course,  in  questioning  experts  at 
the  quarry,  to  suppose  a  situation  just  like  that  he  was 
now  arranging.  He  was  really  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  the  execution  of  the  plan  he  had  just  unfolded 
meant  death  to  its  victim. 

"Well,"  said  James,  "I'm  willing  to  set  the  fuse 
going ;  when  will  it  be  ready  ?" 

"In  just  five  days.  Next  Friday  night  when  the 
master  dismisses  school,  you  drop  a  book  'n'  then 
reach  down  'n'  lift  the  board  'n'  set  fire  t'  the  fuse  'n' 
put  the  board  back,  'n'  marcE  out  like  a  nice  boy  'n' 
then  skin  out  'n'  come  t'  Baldritt's  barn  by  the  back 
way." 

James's  courage  had  by  this  time  begun  to  settle 
again  and  his  conscience  to  prick  but  he  assented  to 
Arthur's  plan.  He  shivered  a  little,  however,  and  at 
Arthur's  suggestion  replenished  his  courage  from  the 
flask  "to  keep  out  the  chill." 

"Now,"  said  Arthur,  "what  ye're  willin'  t'  say  in 
words  ye're  of  course  willin'  to  say  in  writin' ." 

He  produced  a  candle  from  his  pocket,  lighted  it, 
and  then  handed  James  a  paper  to  read. 

"Do  you  suppose  I'm  going  to  sign  that  paper?" 
exclaimed  James,  after  reading  it. 

His  courage  was  again  rising.  "If  you  do,"  he 
continued,  "you're  mightily  mistaken.  You  want  to 


I4O  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

make  me  responsible  for  this  whole  business  while  you 
go  scot  free." 

Arthur  saw  that  he  had  gone  a  little  too  far.  As 
he  was  to  have  the  custody  of  the  paper,  no  harm  could 
result  from  his  signing  it  with  James. 

"Why  Jim,"  he  said,  "of  course  I'm  goin'  to  sign  it 
with  you.  As  soon  as  we've  had  our  fun,  I'll  tear  it  up." 

The  boys  now,  with  pen  and  ink  bought  by  Arthur 
for  the  purpose,  affixed  their  signatures  to  a  paper  in 
\vhich  they  agreed  to  blow  the  school  teacher  up  with 
a  keg  of  powder  as  specified  in  their  oral  agreement. 

They  then  rose  and  started  for  home,  and  James 
reached  his  room  without  discovery. 

It  took  Harry  Dole  a  much  longer  time  to  row  back 
to  the  ferry  than  it  had  taken  to  make  the  descent,  and 
it  was  nearly  five  o'clock  Monday  morning  when  he 
laid  his  head  upon  his  pillow. 

Arthur  had,  a  week  before,  selected  a  hiding  place 
for  the  agreement  he  had  determined  to  make  James 
sign.  On  Monday,  he  walked  to  the  quarry  where  he 
was  employed.  Passing  through  a  grove  he  paused 
at  the  foot  of  a  large  oak.  Looking  around  to  assure 
himself  that  he  was  alone,  he  climbed  the  tree  to  a 
hole  about  ten  feet  from  the  ground.  Into  this  hole 
he  thrust  a  folded  paper  which  he  drew  from  his 
pocket.  It  was  the  written  agreement,  which  he  pur- 
posed using  as  a  club  to  insure  the  fidelity  of  his 
confederate. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SELF  GOVERNMENT 

He  that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  better  than  he  that  taketh  a  city. 

— Bible. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  before  closing  school 
on  the  evening  of  his  trip  to  Heavitree,  Stockley 
had  directed  the  pupils  to  go  on  with  their  studies 
on  Monday  morning  in  case  of  his  failure  to  arrive  by 
the  usual  time  for  opening.  It  was  about  half  past  nine 
on  Monday  morning  when  Mr.  Harkins  stopped  his 
team  several  blocks  away  from  the  schoolhouse  for 
Stockley  to  alight.  The  schoolmaster  had  told  Mr. 
Harkins  that  he  preferred  to  walk  to  the  schoolhouse. 

"It  will  not  be  at  all  out  of  my  way  to  drive  there/' 
protested  the  superintendent,  "and  you  are  already 
behind  time." 

"I  very  much  prefer  not  to  ride  to  the  door," 
was  the  reply;  "in  fact  I  do  not  care  to  have  the 
boys  and  girls  know  of  my  return  until  I  opi,n  the  door 
upon  them." 

"Will  not  such  a  course  lead  your  pupils  to  believe 
that  you  distrust  them  and  tend  to  alienate  their  regard 
for  you  ?  To  drive  boldly  to  the  door  and  enter  after 
the  scholars  have  had  warning  of  youi  coming, — 
such  a  course,  it  seems  to  me,  would  be  more  likely 
to  commend  you  to  the  good  will  of  these  young 
people.  Pope,  in  his  translation  of  the  Odyssey,  makes 
the  blind  minstrel  say  that : 

'"A  decent  boldness  ever  meets  with  friends.'" 


142  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

"I  fully  appreciate  the  force  of  what  you  say," 
replied  Stockley,  "and  I  heartily  concur  in  the  spirit 
of  your  suggestion.  It  is  due  to  your  friendly  interest 
that  I  explain  my  plan  and  my  motive.  I  shall  not 
go  to  the  schoolhouse  as  a  spy ;  I  shall  not  peep  through 
the  keyhole  nor  apply  my  ear  to  it.  I  am  not  hoping 
or  expecting  to  find  the  room  or  a  single  pupil  in 
disorder.  In  fact  I  expect  to  find,  on  opening  the 
door,  that  every  pupil  is  engaged  in  Lis  legitimate 
work.  I  simply  wish  to  give  myself  the  satisfaction 
of  finding  that  my  confidence  in  these  pupils  is  well 
placed." 

"But  will  not  the  scholars  suspect  your  unheralded 
coming  to  be  an  insidious  attempt  to  entrap  them?" 

"I  think  not.  Should  such  an  idea  suggest  itself  to 
any  of  them,  it  would  be  effectively  negatived  by  the 
reflection  that  I  have  always  been  honest  and  frank 
in  my  dealings  with  them.  But  that  there  may  be 
no  possibility  of  the  suspicion  referred  to  in  your 
question,  I  shall  later  in  the  day,  tell  them  all  about 
my  plan  for  entering  unannounced,  and  give  them  my 
reason  for  it." 

"It  will  be  an  extraordinary  exhibition  of  self 
control,"  said  the  superintendent,  "if,  as  you  expect, 
your  pupils  are  all  found  pursuing  their  appointed 
tasks  on  your  entrance." 

"There  is,  of  course,  a  possibility  of  my  disappoint- 
ment," was  the  reply.  "Will  you  not  walk  over  to 
the  building  with  me  and  note  the  result  of  the  experi- 
ment? If  it  fail,  I  must  simply  modify  my  plan 
of  training  and  wait  longer  for  a  favorable  result." 


SELF  GOVERNMENT  143 

The  two  men  alighted  and  after  securing  the  horses 
started  for  the  schoolhouse. 

"You  refer  to  a  'plan  of  training' "  resumed  Mr. 
Harkins.  "Am  I  to  infer  that  you  have  adopted 
a  system  for  teaching  self  government?" 

"Yes,  that  is  just  what  I  have  done.  My  theory 
is  that  young  people  should  receive  as  regular,  system- 
atic, and  carefully  thought-out  lessons  in  the  science, 
or  rather  the  practice  (the  science  is  for  the  teacher, — 
the  practice  for  the  pupils)  of  self  government  as  in 
arithmetic,  geography,  or  any  other  subject  taught  in 
school.  My  present  experiment  will  be  a  test —  not 
necessarily  a  conclusive  one — of  the  soundness  of  my 
theory." 

"Your  theory  seems  a  sound  one,  Mr.  Stockley," 
said  the  official,  now  thoroughly  interested,  "I  am 
curious  to  know  the  steps  by  which  you  developed  or 
applied  your  theory  in  practice." 

"  'Steps  is  a  good  word,"  was  the  reply.  "The 
first  step  was  to  leave  the  room  for  two  minutes, 
asking  from  the  pupils  a  promise  of  good  order  during 
my  absence.  The  test  was  purposely  made  short  and 
easy.  It  was  a  lesson  in  the  primer  of  self  government. 
The  second  and  third  steps  were  to  absent  myself  for 
five  and  ten  minutes,  saying  that  I  was  going  to 
visit  Miss  Dix's  room.  In  these  instances  no  promises 
were  exacted ;  the  pupils  were  told  that  I  was  confident 
their  own  pride  would  insure  their  doing  what  was 
right.  I  am  satisfied  that  they  learned  these  elemen- 
tary lessons  well.  The  fourth  step  was  to  go  to  your 
home  with  the  understanding  on  the  part  of  the 
pupils  that  I  was  liable  to  be  late  this  morning. 


144  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

Not  a  word  was  said  to  them  on  the  subject  of  order. 
This  is  about  a  sixth-grade  lesson  in  self  government. 
We  shall  now  see  whether  they  have  learned  it  well." 

The  two  men  were  now  ascending  the  front  steps 
of  the  schoolhouse.  They  had  approached  the  building 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  would  have  been  impossible 
for  any  inmate  to  know  of  their  coming.  They 
paused  a  moment  at  the  door.  There  was  profound 
silence  within.  Stockley  then  quietly  opened  the  door 
and  the  two  entered  the  room.  The  pupils  looked  up 
for  a  moment  and  then  resumed  the  study  which  had 
occupied  them  before  the  teacher's  arrival.  Mr.  Har- 
kins  had  sent  a  searching  glance  around  the  room 
and  had  not  detected  a  sly  wink  or  any  appearance 
of  sudden  return  from  mischief  to  study. 

"Verily,  my  friend,"  said  he  in  an  undertone  to 
Stockley,  "it  may  be  said  of  your  experiment  that 
finis  coronat  opus  tuum1 ;  in  other  words,  your  experi- 
ment has  resulted  in  gratifying  success.  And  now  I 
must  bid  you  good  day." 

The  visitor  withdrew  and  the  teacher  took  up  the 
labors  of  the  day. 

The  teacher  noticed  in  the  course  of  one  of  the 
recitations,  that  James  Wakely  was  unusually  thought- 
ful. He  seemed  to  be  preoccupied,  and  several  times 
when  addressed  he  started  and  looked  frightened  as  if 
he  had  been  detected  in  some  forbidden  act.  He  was 
slightly  pale  and  very  quiet.  Two  or  three  times 
during  the  day  he  fell  asleep  with  his  head  on  his 
desk,  and  when  awakened  by  a  nudge  from  his  seat 

1The  end  crowns  your  work 


SELF  GOVERNMENT  145 

mate  he  caught  his  breath  with  a  start  and  looked 
quickly  about  him,  like  one  who  expects  an  attack. 
Once  while  he  was  sleeping,  the  boy  who  shared  his 
seat  heard  him  mumuring,  and  caught  the  words 
"that . . .  murder  . . .  chilly  ..."  When  school  closed 
he  started  at  once  for  home  without  exchanging  a  word 
with  any  of  his  schoolmates. 

By  nine  o'clock  that  evening  Harry  Dole  was  lying 
comfortably  on  the  hay  in  the  loft  of  Mr.  Baldritt's 
barn.  Mr.  Baldritt's  house  was  situated  just  one 
block  east  of  the  schoolhouse,  and,  like  that  building, 
faced  the  east.  The  barn,  being  on  the  back  or  western 
extremity  of  the  lot,  was  in  full  view  of  the  front  of 
the  schoolhouse,  as  the  western  side  of  the  block  had 
no  buildings  on  it.  A  door  or  opening  for  pitching  hay 
into  the  loft  made  it  possible  for  an  observer  to  see 
whatever  might  be  going  on  about  the  schoolhouse. 

By  ten  o'clock,  when  the  passing  of  late  home-goers 
had  about  ceased,  Harry  saw  a  solitary  figure  carrying 
some  bulky  object  under  one  arm  steal  up  to  the  school- 
house  and  disappear  under  the  front  steps.  Half  an 
hour  later  the  figure  emerged  and  started  toward  the 
village.  He  no  longer  carried  the  bulky  object.  Harry 
quickly  left  the  barn  and  sped,  by  a  circuitous  route, 
to  a  point  whence  he  could  see  what  he  recognized  as 
the  same  figure  coming  down  the  hill  toward  him  from 
the  direction  of  the  schoolhouse.  He  retreated,  and 
managed  to  come  face  to  face  with  the  night  worker 
in  the  light  shining  dimly  from  a  saloon.  He  was  not 
surprised  when  he  recognized  Arthur  Blazer. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

AWAKENING  A  SLUGGARD 

As  idle  as  a  painted  ship 
Upon  a  painted  ocean. 

— The  Ancient  Mariner. 

"James  Duke." 

It  was  the  teacher  who  spoke.  The  grammar  class 
occupied  the  recitation  seats  facing  his  desk.  The  ex- 
ercise consisted  in  changing  certain  passages  so  as  to 
give  the  verbs  a  different  grammatical  voice  without 
changing  the  sense.  Four  or  five  sentences  had  been 
disposed  of  by  as  many  pupils  whose  names  the  teach- 
er had  called  in  promiscuous  order. 

When  Mr.  Stockley  called  the  name  of  James 
Duke,  a  long  and  lanky  boy  partly  raised  himself  from 
a  semi-reclining  position  and  directed  a  look  of  sleepy 
inquiry  at  the  speaker.  As  he  made  no  further  re- 
sponse, the  name  of  Lizzie  Dalny  was  called.  Lizzie 
took  up  the  next  sentence  in  order  and  the  recitation 
proceeded. 

"Maude  Clarke." 

Maude  understood  this  as  a  direction  to  proceed 
in  regular  order,  and  she  did  so. 

"Eva  Black." 

Eva  disposed  of  the  next  sentence. 

"James  Duke." 

"Huh?"  languidly  inquired  James,  as  a  drowsy 
look  of  interrogation  appeared  in  his  half-'open  eyes. 

Mr.  Stockley  again  called  on  another  member  of 


AWAKENING  A  SLUGGARD  147 

the  class,  after  waiting  several  seconds  for  an  answer 
from  James.  To  repeat  the  question  after  it  had  been 
distinctly  given  would,  in  his  judgment,  place  a  prem- 
ium on  inattention,  as  he  had  explained  to  Mr.  Dow 
in  connection  with  the  work  in  spelling,  on  Visitors 
Day.  After  a  few  questions  had  been  asked  of  other 
pupils,  the  teacher  determined  to  test  James  by  a  very 
easy  question. 

"James  Duke/'  he  called. 

James  looked  as  attentive  as  his  indolent  nature 
would  permit. 

"Read  the  next  sentence, — the  one  beginning  with 
Laziness." 

James  read  the  sentence :  "Laziness  grows  on  peo- 
ple." 

"In  what  case  is  the  noun  Laziness?' 

James  gave  a  weary  look  at  the  work,  yawned,  and 
said,  "/  don't  know." 

James  did  not  mean  to  be  impudent.  He  really 
liked  his  teacher,  but  he  was  too  indolent  to  think. 
Hoping  to  shame  him,  Stockley  passed  the  question 
to  Maude  Clarke,  the  youngest  girl  in  the  class,  who 
promptly  gave  the  correct  answer.  But  James  was 
unmoved.  The  subdued  titter  which  his  exhibition  of 
ignorance  evoked  from  a  few  boys  and  girls  failed  to 
stir  his  sluggish  soul. 

Stockley  was  for  the  moment  at  the  end  of  his 
resources.  But  he  was  not  discouraged  and  he  did 
not  fall  into  the  error  of  showing  irritation.  He 
thought  and  thought.  "There  must  be  some  way  to 
reach  this  case,"  so  his  thought  ran,  "and  sooner  or 
later  I  shall  discover  the  right  plan."  That  very  af- 


148  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

ternoon  he  made  the  discovery  and  formed  his  plan. 
Just  before  the  afternoon  session  began,  he  opened  a 
Fourth  Reader  that  lay  on  his  desk,  in  order  to  look 
over  the  selection  to  be  read  that  afternoon.  While 
turning  over  the  pages  to  find  the  lesson,  his  eye 
caught  the  caption  of  one  of  the  lessons.  He  read  the 
first  sentence.  "There!"  he  exclaimed  to  himself, 
"that  is  the  stream  of  cold  water  I  shall  use  to  wake 
up  James  Duke!" 

The  first  recitation  in  the  afternoon  was  that  of 
the  A  class  in  arithmetic.  Charlie  Marfield  stood  at 
the  blackboard  explaining  an  example  in  percentage. 
James  Duke  sat  at  his  desk  near  the  rear  of  the  room, 
his  elbows  on  the  desk,  his  chin  in  his  hands,  gazing 
lazily  around  the  room.  Stockley  stood  on  the  teach- 
er's platform,  facing  the  school. 

"Since  a  remittance  of  $1.025  permits  an  invest- 
ment of  $i,"  Charlie  was  saying,  "a  remittance  of 
$875  permits  an  investment  of  as  many  dollars  as — " 

"James  Duke!" 

The  master's  voice  had  only  its  ordinary  pitch  and 
force,  but  it  was  no  ordinary  proceeding  for  him  to 
interrupt  a  pupil,  in  such  an  apparently  rude  man- 
ner, with  something  entirely  foreign  to  the  matter  un- 
der consideration.  The  effect  on  the  class  was-  almost 
electrical.  All  glanced  at  the  teacher,  who  was  leaning 
slightly  to  one  side,  with  an  intent  gaze  fixed  on  the 
boy  addressed,  and  the  next  moment  the  eyes  of  the 
entire  school  were  focused  on  James  Duke.  The 
scheme  had  thus  far  worked  exactly  as  the  teacher 
had  planned.  "Success  number  one,"  he  thought. 
Without  saying,  "Silence!  look  at  James  Duke!"  he 


AWAKENING  A  SLUGGARD  149 

had  managed  to  concentrate  upon  the  sluggard  the 
wondering  attention  of  his  schoolmates.  James  looked 
up  with  as  much  surprise  as  his  lazy  nature  was  capa- 
ble of  feeling.  Not  more  than  two  seconds  were  con- 
sumed in  what  it  has  taken  sixty  seconds  to  describe. 

"Have  you  a  Fourth  Reader?" 

"Y-e-s,  s-i-r,"  was  the  drawling  reply.  Even 
James  had  awakened  sufficiently  to  wonder  what  was 
coming. 

"Would  you  be  willing  to  read  one  sentence  in 
the  Fourth  Reader  for  me?" 

"Y-e-s,  s-i-r." 

"Please  take  your  reader,  then,  and  stand  in  the 
aisle." 

The  boy  did  as  requested.  He  was  good  natured 
(in  fact,  he  was  too  lazy  to  be  otherwise)  and  had  a 
kindly  feeling  for  his  teacher. 

"When  I  give  you  the  page  you  may  turn  to  it  and 
read.  Read  first,  the  title  of  the  selection  that  begins 
on  the  page,  and  then  read,  very  distinctly,  the  first 
sentence." 

Expectation  was  on  tiptoe.  "What  on  earth!"  was 
the  inquiry  written  on  the  puckered  foreheads  of  the 
pupils  as  they  turned  their  eyes  alternately  on  Stock- 
ley  and  on  James  Duke. 

"What  do  you  understand  I  ask  you  to  do?"  asked 
Stockley. 

"Read  the  caption  and  the  first  sentence,"  replied 
James. 

"That  is  right ;  page  74." 

James  moistened  his  fingers  and  pawed  over  the 
leaves  of  his  reader  until  he  had  found  page  74.  When 


I5O  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

his  eye  caught  the  title  of  the  selection,  the  red  blood 
surged  into  his  face.  For  the  first  time  that  term,  he 
was  ashamed.  "Success  number  two,"  said  Stockley 
to  himself;  "I  have  actually  stirred  up  his  sense  of 
shame !" 

"Kindly  read  the  title  of  the  piece,"  said  Stockley. 
By  this  time  the  pupils  were  leaning  almost  out  of 
their  seats  in  their  eagerness  to  hear  what  was  coming. 
James  drawled  out  the  caption : 

A  HUMAN  BEING  WITH  NOTHING  TO  Do 

A  second  later  the  school  was  in  a  roar  of  laugh- 
ter. "Success  number  three,"  was  the  teacher's  mental 
comment.  He  wanted  James  to  realize  that  his  lazi- 
ness was  unanimously  regarded  as  ridiculous.  He  did 
not  wish  James  to  feel,  however,  that  his  teacher  was 
deliberately  holding  him  up  as  a  laughing  stock.  Rais- 
ing his  hand  as  a  signal  for  silence,  he  said,  "Please 
read  the  first  sentence,  James."  Again  James  read : 

"Most  miserable,  worthy  of  profound  pity  is  such 
a  being." 

No  rapping  on  the  desk  or  ringing  of  the  desk  bell 
could  have  restrained  the  uproarious  and  continued 
laughter  that  followed.  As  soon  as  he  could  be  heard, 
the  teacher  said  to  the  school : 

"Don't  you  pity  poor  James?  He  has  nothing  to 
do." 

"Yes !"  the  pupils  shouted. 

"I  don't  think  he  will  need  your  pity  any  longer," 
said  Stockley,  "for  I  believe  he  will  find  something 
to  do  for  the  rest  of  the  day;  now  let  us  resume  our 
regular  work." 

He  at  once  directed  Charlie  Marfield  to  resume 


AWAKENING  A  SLUGGARD  15! 

the  explanation  of  the  problem  in  commission  and  re- 
frained from  looking  directly  at  James.  Out  of  one 
corner  of  his  eye,  however,  he  saw  James  dive  into  his 
desk  for  a  grammar  and  begin  to  study  in  earnest.  The 
boy  had  been  thoroly  awakened  for  that  day  at  least. 
"Fourth  and  final  success,"  silently  said  the  teacher. 

James  studied  faithfully  all  the  afternoon  and  the 
next  forenoon  (Wednesday).  While  the  A  class  in 
arithmetic  was  reciting  on  Wednesday  afternoon, 
James  dropped  into  his  old,  lazy  attitude — his  elbows 
on  his  desk,  his  chin  in  his  hands.  Lizzie  Dalny  was 
reciting : 

"The  present  worth  of  an  amount  due  at  some  fu- 
ture time  without  interest  is  such  a  sum  as — " 

"James  Duke!" 

The  teacher  used  exactly  the  same  tone  as  the 
day  before.  Again  all  eyes  were  directed  at  James. 

"Have  you  a  Fourth  Reader?" 

James's  only  reply  was  to  grab  a  book  and  begin 
to  study.  The  effect  of  this  second  lesson  lasted  two 
days.  A  third  allusion  to  the  Fourth  Reader  com- 
pleted the  cure.  Whenever  he  showed  disinclination 
to  exertion  on  the  playground,  the  boys  would 
shout:  "James  Duke,  have  you  a  Fourth  Reader?" 
James  became  a  diligent  student  and  made  good 
records  in  his  studies. 

"I  would  have  caned  the  boy,"  said  a  fellow 
teacher,  to  whom  Stockley  related  the  incident ; 
"The  mental  whip  you  applied  was  far  more  severe 
than  the  application  of  the  birch." 

Stockley  had  the  satisfaction,  however,  of  know- 


152  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

ing  that  the  whip  he  had  used  had  accomplished 
the  desired  result,  and  that  instead  of  alienating  the 
good  will  of  the  boy,  it  had  increased  his  respect 
and  friendship  for  his  teacher. 

The  only  member  of  the  Green  Valley  school  who 
had  failed  to  appreciate  the  humor  of  the  James  Duke 
incident  on  that  Tuesday  afternoon  was  James  Wakely. 
His  mind  was  so  filled  with  the  thought  that  only  three 
days  thence  he  would  be  compelled  by  a  written  prom- 
ise to  enact  what  might  prove  the  part  of  Second  Mur- 
derer in  a  real  tragedy  that  he  was  in  no  mood  for 
merriment.  Stockley  noticed  his  gravity  and  attribut- 
ed it  to  the  inherent  sullenness  of  his  disposition. 

That  night  Harry  Dole  occupied  again  his  post  of 
observation  in  the  Baldritt  barn.  A  few  minutes  after 
ten  he  again  saw  a  boy  approaching  the  school  house. 
He  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  him  as  one  who 
had  placed  some  bulky  object,  whose  character  he 
iould  easily  guess,  under  the  building  the  night  before. 
He  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  this  boy  who  fur- 
tively skulked  along  the  street  and  across  the  play- 
ground in  the  shadows,  but  he  seriously  doubted 
whether  his  testimony  upon  the  identity  of  the  person 
seen  at  night  by  a  dim  light  would  be  conclusive  in  a 
court  of  law.  He  had  therefore  determined  that  this 
time  he  would  keep  his  man  in  sight  from  the  time  he 
left  the  school  building  until  he  should  be  able  to  see 
his  face  in  a  strong  light.  To  that  end  he  had  planned 
to  slide  down  a  rope  from  the  door  in  the  loft,  and  at 
that  door  he  was  keeping  his  vigil.  The  man  under 
surveillance  appeared  to  be  carrying  several  boards 
or  pieces  of  plank  two  or  three  feet  in  length.  These 


AWAKENING  A  SLUGGARD  153 

he  pushed  under  the  steps  before  crawling  under,  him- 
self. His  work  took  more  time  than  the  night  before. 
A  little  before  twelve  his  head  appeared  at  the  opening 
through  which  he  had  entered.  Harry  grasped  his 
rope.  The  body  worked  out  into  the  open  and  stood 
erect.  After  a  cautious  glance  around  it  started  down 
the  street.  The  watcher  promptly  slid  down  the  rope — 
his  side  of  the  barn  being  in  shadow — and  stealthily  fol- 
lowed without  losing  sight,  for  a  single  moment,  of  the 
person  he  was  after.  From  tree  to  tree  and  from 
house  to  house  he  continued  the  pursuit  until  the  person 
ahead  had  reached  the  principal  business  block.  Harry 
then  quickened  his  pace,  walking  upon  the  sidewalk 
with  no  attempt  at  concealment.  As  Arthur  came  into 
the  brilliant  light  shining  through  the  windows  of  Jake 
Rice's  saloon,  a  loud  voice  immediately  behind  him 
called  out,  "Hello,  Will !"  The  salutation  was  so 
evidently  addressed  to  him  that  he  stopped  and  looked 
around. 

"Oh !"  said  Harry,  "it  ain't  Will  Fulton  after  all ; 
I  see  now ;  it's  Arthur  Blazer.  How's  things  up  to  the 
quarry  now  days?" 

"All  right,"  growled  Arthur. 

"Don't  ye  most  wish  ye's  back  'n  school  agin?" 

"No,  I  don't";  and  he  shuffled  along  out  of  the 
light. 

Harry  was  satisfied.  He  was  now  able  to  state  posi- 
tively that  the  person  with  whom  he  had  talked  was 
the  one  who  had  come  from  under  the  schoolhouse; 
that  he  had  recognized  him  in  a  strong  light  as  Arthur 
Blazer ;  and  that  when  addressed  by  that  name  he  had 
not  denied  the  identity.  He  determined  to  keep  his 


154  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

own  counsel  and  to  appear  at  the  schoolhouse  a  little 
before  "lettin'  out  time"  on  Friday  in  season  to  prevent 
James  from  lighting  the  fuse.  He  could,  of  course, 
stop  the  progress  of  the  mischief  at  any  moment  by 
exposing  the  plot  and  putting  the  master  on  his  guard, 
but  to  do  so  would  ruin  the  dramatic  climax  he  had 
planned  and  so  deprive  him  of  "a  heap  o'  fun."  He 
had  not  yet  decided  whether  he  would  swear  out  a 
warrant  for  the  boy's  arrest.  That  would  depend  on 
developments. 


CHAPTER  XV 
EUCLID  BY  MOONLIGHT 

To  behold  the  wandering  moon 
Riding  near  her  highest  noon 

— //  Penseroso. 

A  se,  non  per  scholam,  eruditus 

— John  S.  Clarke 

Lois  Dix,  teacher  of  the  primary  department  in 
the  Green  Valley  school,  lived  with  her  widowed 
mother  in  an  attractive  little  cottage  not  far  remote 
from  the  business  center  of  the  village.  Lois  was 
bright,  vivacious,  and  twenty.  Mrs.  Dix  was  indus- 
trious, clever,  and  fifty.  Mother  and  daughter  were 
confidential  friends,  and  Lois  found  in  the  elder  woman 
a  sympathetic  listener  to  her  comments  on  society, 
school,  books,  church,  and  life  in  general.  Mrs.  Dix 
was  not  a  gossip,  and  her  daughter  did  not  hesitate  to 
repeat  to  her  many  incidents  of  school  life  which  it 
would  have  been  imprudent  to  speak  of  elsewhere. 
By  this  means  Mrs.  Dix  had  not  only  become  familiar 
with  Lois's  experiences  in  her  own  department  of  the 
school  but  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  much  that 
had  occurred  in  the  grammar  school  department.  Her 
predilection  for  the  new  principal,  based  on  what  Lois 
had  told  her,  had  developed  into  a  decidedly  favorable 
impression  upon  meeting  and  speaking  with  him. 

Stockley  had  not  made  a  formal  call  at  the  home 
of  his  assistant,  but  he  had  sometimes  stopped,  when 
passing  the  house,  to  exchange  greetings  with  the  two 


156  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

ladies,  whom  he  found,  on  such  occasions,  among  the 
flowers  in  the  front  yard  or  at  their  sewing  on  the 
front  porch. 

"Mother,"  said  Lois,  one  evening  after  tea,  "I'm 
going  to  run  up  to  Lottie  Wildon's;  I  won't  be  gone 
more  than  an  hour  or  two.  Lottie  wanted  me  to  show 
her  about  some  embroidery  for  Christmas  presents." 

Mr.  Wildon's  house  was  on  the  hill,  distant  half  a 
mile  or  more,  but  the  streets  and  byways  of  Green 
Valley  were  regarded  as  safe  at  all  hours  of  day  and 
night  and  Mrs.  Dix  made  no  objection  to  the  evening 
visit  which  her  daughter  proposed. 

Lois  started  on  her  return  home  about  nine  o'clock. 
She  had  passed  a  pleasant  evening,  and  now,  under 
the  inspiration  of  crisp,  frosty  air  and  brilliant  moon- 
light, her  heart  sang  merrily  and  she  hummed  aloud 
a  song  she  had  been  teaching  the  school  children  that 
day.  She  had  noticed  that  a  man  was  walking  some 
distance  ahead  of  her  and  in  the  same  direction.  His 
hands  appeared  to  be  clasped  behind  his  back,  his  pace 
was  slow,  and  his  bent  head  indicated  a  thoughtful 
mood.  At  the  sound  of  her  humming  he  stopped  and 
faced  partly  about  as  if  listening.  He  appeared  to  rec- 
ognize Lois's  voice,  for  after  a  moment's  hesitation  he 
turned  to  meet  her.  His  manner  underwent  a  com- 
plete change  as  he  advanced.  His  pace  was  no  longer 
slow  and  the  bright  moonlight  fell  upon  a  face  that 
indicated  a  happy  and  animated  rather  than  a  con- 
templative mood.  Lois  at  once  recognized  the  new 
principal,  and  her  step  was  not  retarded  in  the  slightest 
degree  as  she  advanced  to  meet  him. 

"Miss    Dix !"   exclaimed    Stockley,    "I    recognized 


EUCLID  BY  'MOONLIGHT  157 

your  voice  at  once,  but  the  time  of  night  and  your  dis- 
tance from  home  made  me  think  for  a  moment  that 
I  might  be  mistaken." 

"O,  I  often  run  out  alone,  of  an  evening,"  was  the 
reply,  "to  call  on  a  neighbor,  and  my  calls  are  more 
often  made  in  the  evening  than  in  the  daytime  when 
my  time  is  so  taken  up  with  school  duties." 

"When  I  heard  you  singing,"  said  Stockley,  some- 
what inconsequentially,  "there  came  to  mind  the 
words  and  music  of  a  song  I  learned  when  I  was  a 
boy,"  and  he  sang  very  softly : 

Come,  fairies,  trip  on  the  grass 

With  a  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho! 
And  mock  dull  mortals  as  they  pass 

With  a  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho ! 
While  the  stars  are  shining  bright, 
We  will  sing  by  their  sparkling  light 
With  a  ho,  ho,  ho ! 
With  a  ho,  ho,  ho! 
With  a  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho,  ho! 

"Why,  Mr.  Stockley,  that  song  doesn't  apply  to 
this  case  at  all,  pretty  as  it  is ;  I'm  not  a  .  ..." 

"Yes,  yes,"  interrupted  the  principal,  "I  know  what 
you  want  to  say — that  you  are  'not  a  fairy,'  that  you 
were  'not  tripping  it  but  quietly  walking,'  that  you 
were  'on  the  sidewalk'  instead  of  'on  the  grass,'  that 
you  'had  no  idea  of  mocking'  me  'or  any  other  dull 
mortal,'  and  that  you  were  'singing  "Lightly  row"  '  and 
not  a  ridiculous  "ho,  ho,  ho"  ' — but  that  would  rob  the 
incident  of  all  its  poetry  and  I  don't  want  you  to  do 
that." 

"Yes,  Mr.  Stockley,  that  is  in  substance  what 
I  intended  saying  and  I  confess  I  can't  see  any  poetry 


158  THE  GREEN   VALLEY  SCHOOL 

in  humming  a  school  song  as  one  walks  along  the 
street  on  a  bright  night." 

"And  you  are  right.  Moonlight  and  music  are  only 
accessories ;  they  quicken  the  soul-sense  and  help  one 
to  perceive  the  poetry  that  is  in  the  life  of  the  singer. 
Do  not  think,  Miss  Dix,  that  I  am  becoming  too  per- 
sonal. Everyone  has  something  of  poetry  in  his  na- 
ture. Carlyle  says  something  like  this  in  an  essay  on 
Walter  Scott.  'There  is  no  life  of  man,  faithfully  re- 
corded, but  is  a  heroic  poem  of  its  sort,  rhymed  or  un- 
rhymed.'  But  we  are  drifting  toward  sentiment  and 
philosophy.  To  change  the  subject,  I  wish  you  would 
walk  with  me  a  short  distance  out  of  your  direct  way, 
so  as  to  pass  the  schoolhouse.  After  that  I  will,  with 
your  permission,  see  you  home." 

The  two  had  been  slowly  walking  during  the  fore- 
going conversation.  Lois  willingly  assented  to  the 
proposed  detour  and  they  turned  toward  the  scene 
of  their  daily  labors. 

"You  seemed  very  thoughtful  when  I  discovered 
you  ahead  of  me,"  began  Lois;  "would  it  savor  of 
presumption  or  extravagance  if  I  were  to  offer  'a 
penny  for  your  thoughts'?" 

"Of  presumption,  certainly  not;  of  extravagance, 
possibly,  though  my  thoughts  were  of  considerable 
value  to  myself  as  brain  food  and  I  am  not  without 
hope  that  they  will  ultimately  produce  a  modest  store 
of  pennies  for  my  purse.  I  was  studying  my  geome- 
try lesson." 

"Your  geometry  lesson  !  Where's  your  geometry  ?" 
bending  forward  to  see  if  he  carried  a  book.  "How 
could  you  study  by  moonlight,  in  the  open  air?  Isn't 


EUCLID  BY   MOONLIGHT  159 

it  ruinous  to  your  eyes?  Who's  your  tea ,  but 

excuse  me;  I  have  no  right  to  ask  such  questions;  it 
seemed  so  strange  for  one  to  study  geometry  by  night, 
in  the  street,  with  his  hands  behind  him  and  his  eyes 
bent  on  the  ground." 

"Your  questions  are  natural  and  allowable,  Miss 
Dix,  and  I  am  glad  you  asked  them,  for  they  give  me 
an  opportunity,  in  answering  them,  to  speak  on  a 
subject  which,  otherwise,  I  would  have  found  difficult 
to  introduce." 

"What  on  earth  does  he  mean?"  thought  Lois.  A 
vague  feeling  of  disquiet  for  which  she  could  not  ac- 
count possessed  her  for  a  moment,  but  it  soon  gave 
way  to  an  absorbing  interest  in  the  subject  of  which 
Stockley  spoke. 

"I  will  first  give  a  direct  answer  to  each  of  your 
questions,"  resumed  the  principal,  "and  then  I  want 
to  deliver  a  lecturette  on  what  the  answers  suggest." 

Miss  Dix  was  still  more  mystified.  What  was  a 
lecturette?  He  seemed  to  attach  an  importance  to 
her  idle  questions  far  greater,  it  appeared  to  her,  than 
belonged  to  them.  She  made  no  reply  but  wondered 
what  was  coming  now. 

"My  geometry,"  said  Stockley,  "is  in  my  room  at 
Mr.  Dow's.  I  study  it  by  moonlight,  in  the  open  air, 
by  repeating  a  demonstration  and  forcing  myself  to  go 
repeatedly  over  parts  that  are  not  clear,  following  a 
logical  sequence  rather  than  the  language  of  the  text 
book,  constructing  the  required  figure  on  the  ground 
with  a  stick  or  on  any  scrap  of  paper  I  may  chance  to 
pick  up  or  to  have  in  my  pocket — constructing  it,  some- 
times, in  my  mind  without  the  aid  of  visible  lines.  Such 


l6o  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

study  does  not  tax  the  eyes  like  poring  over  a  book 
in  order  to  commit  its  wording.  I  am  my  own  teach- 
er. There!  your  questions  are  answered.  Let  me  re- 
peat that  in  asking  them  you  have  committed  no  im- 
pertinence, but  have  rather  conferred  a  favor." 

"Thank  you  very  much  for  your  explicit  answers," 
said  Lois,  "but  I  didn't  really  intend  to  ask  questions ; 
I  just  wondered,  and  my  wonder  ran  over  in  words  as 
a  glass  of  soda  water  runs  over  in  froth." 

"I  quite  understand,"  said  Stockley,  "and  I'm  not 
quite  sure  but  it  is  taking  an  ungenerous  advantage  of 
your  ingenuous  outburst  to  impose  upon  you  an  un- 
solicited essay  on  self-instruction.  I'm  not  going  to 
pretend,  however,  that  what  I  have  to  say  is  not  worth 
while,  for  I  believe  it  is;  otherwise,  it  would  be  pre- 
sumptuous to  ask  you  to  listen  to  it." 

He  paused  as  if  casting  about  for  some  appropriate 
way  of  beginning.  The  silence  became  a  little  em- 
barrassing to  his  companion. 

"Do  tell  me  about  it,"  she  said,  at  last,  "I  am  really 
anxious  to  listen  to  your  'essay.'  " 

"You  know  Frank  Courtney,  do  you  not?"  asked 
Stockley. 

"Very  well." 

"Did  you  know  that  he  had  left  school?" 

"No." 

"Yes,  he  left  yesterday.  It  seems  that  his  father 
needs  his  help  in  the  shop,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
has  reached  the  end  of  his  school  life.  After  he  had 
gathered  up  his  books  at  the  close  of  school  yesterday, 
he  came  to  my  desk  to  bid  me  good  bye.  He  said  he 
had  hoped  to  get  at  least  a  high  school  education,  but 


EUCLID  BY  'MOONLIGHT  l6l 

that  he  must  now  give  up  the  idea  of  becoming  any 
more  of  a  scholar  than  he  now  is.  I  was  sorry  to  hear 
him  say  this,  for  Frank  was  one  of  the  most  promising 
boys  in  my  room.  He  is  making  the  mistake  that  thou- 
sands of  capable  boys  and  girls  are  making — that  in 
order  to  become  a  scholar  it  is  necessary  to  go  to 
school." 

"Do  you  mean  that  schools  are  of  no  use?  If  that 
is  what  you  mean,  is  not  your  present  practice  incon- 
sistent with  your  theory?" 

"No,  il  do  not  mean  that.  As  society  is  constituted, 
primary  schools  are  a  necessity;  they  supply  children 
with  the  instruments  (reading,  writing,  and  the  rudi- 
ments of  fundamental  studies)  which  they  need  for  ac- 
quiring scholarship.  Technical  schools  are  also  es- 
sential to  the  best  results — not  so  much  for  the  work 
of  the  professors  as  for  the  facilities  they  afford  for 
the  orderly  use  of  libraries,  laboratories,  machinery, 
and  apparatus,  which  the  single  student  could  not  af- 
ford. Between  the  primary  and  the  technical  school 
there  is  a  vast  field — the  high  school  and  college  field — 
for  the  exercise  of  individual  effort,  a  field  in  which 
the  opportunities  are  illimitable  and  the  possibilities 
without  measure.  What  I  mean  to  say  is  that,  in  the 
line  of  high  school  and  college  studies,  an  ambitious 
student  may  attain  high,  broad,  accurate  scholarship 
when  circumstances  deny  him  the  advantages  of  the 
schools.  I  do  not  undervalue  the  laboratory  in  the 
study  of  physics  and  chemistry,  of  the  living  model 
for  pronunciation  in  the  languages,  and  of  the  museum 
in  natural  history,  but  the  thoroughly  earnest  student 
will  make  opportunities  to  enjoy  these  aids  on  occa- 


l62  THE  GREEN   VALLEY  SCHOOL 

sion  and  will  acquire  more  from  them  in  an  hour 
than  many  a  student  in  daily  contact  with  them  will 
acquire  in  a  month  or  even  a  year." 

"Would  you,  then,  advise  boys  and  girls  to  study 
by  themselves  instead  of  attending  high  school  and  col- 
lege?" 

"Certainly  not.  If  one  'has  it  in  him'  to  be  a  scho- 
lar, he  will  be  one  in  or  out  of  school.  The  benefits 
that  accrue  from  association  with  other  students  and 
with  scholarly  men  and  women  in  and  out  of  the  class 
room  are  many.  I  would  advise  any  friend  who  is  in 
search  of  such  education  as  the  schools  can  give,  to 
seek  it  in  the  schools  remembering  that  he  must  rely 
mainly  on  himself  even  when  in  school  for  acquiring 
it.  No,  I  have  in  mind  that  large  number  of  young 
people  who  are  lamenting  the  impossibility  of  getting 
an  education  because  circumstances  forbid  the  con- 
tinuance of  their  school  life." 

"You  are,  yourself,  a  self-taught  man,  are  you  not, 
Mr.  Stockley?  Please  excuse  the  seeming  imperti- 
nence of  my  question.  I  am  only  seeking  further  light. 
Your  'essay'  has  aroused  my  very  hearty  interest." 

"I'm  glad  you  are  interested;  in  fact,  it  is  mainly 
to  awaken  your  sympathy  that  I  am  expressing  my 
views  to  you.  Yes,  so  far  as  I  am  educated  at  all,  I 
am,  in  the  main,  self-taught.  I  won't  undertake  to 
enumerate  the  subjects  I  have  mastered  (that  sounds 
like  a  boast  but  it  isn't),  but  the  one  in  which  you 
surprised  me  is  geometry.  I  find  it  very  difficult.  I 
am  often  compelled  to  read  a  demonstration  through 
several  times  in  order  to  follow  the  reasoning,  but  the 
lidit  comes  at  last,  and  I  then  set  myself  the  task  of 


EUCLID  BY  'MOONLIGHT  163 

threading  my  way  through  the  proposition  with  dif- 
ferent letters  to  designate  the  lines  and  angles.  I  am 
very  exacting  with  myself,  and  what  delight  there  is 
finally  in  patting  myself  on  the  back  and  saying,  'Well 
done,  my  boy!'  Right  here  is  one  superiority  of  this 
over  the  class  room  method:  I  am  not  doing  a  task 
that  has  been  set  me  by  a  master ;  my  recitation  is  not, 
like  the  Israelites'  tale  of  bricks,  a  burden  to  bear 
and  then  get  rid  of.  It  is  hard  but  it  is  self-imposed 
and  the  keen  pleasure  of  discovering  some  (to  me) 
new  geometrical  truth  more  than  compensates  me  for 
the  effort  involved." 

"I  have  never  studied  geometry  or  even  algebra," 
said  Lois ;  "what  principle  of  geometry  were  you  dis- 
covering on  the  ground  when  I  overtook  you  ?" 

"It  was  this:  that  in  any  right  triangle,  the  sum 
of  the  squares  constructed  on  the  base  and  the  per- 
pendicular is  equivalent  to  a  square  constructed  on  the 
hypotenuse." 

"That  is  all  Greek  to  me ;  I  wish  I  could  understand 
it." 

"Why,  look  at  this,"  said  the  principal,  holding  up 
a  crumpled  piece  of  paper,  with  some  geometrical  fig- 
ures drawn  on  it  in  pencil.  "Here  is  the  triangle — 
A  B  C — and  here  are  the  three  squares,  scratched  off 
on  a  bit  of  paper  I  picked  up  far  out  on  the  prairie. 
But  if  you  have  never  studied  geometry  you  would 
hardly  understand  the  demonstration.  The  truth  ex- 
pressed in  this  theorem  is  said  to  have  been  discovered 
about  twenty-five  centuries  ago  by  Pythagoras.  The 
discovery  so  delighted  him  that  he  sacrificed  a  heca- 
tomb to  show  his  gratitude  to  the  gods.  I'm  not  sure 


164  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

but  my  own  delight  in  thinking  the  thoughts  of  Py- 
thagoras over  after  him  was  almost  as  great  as  his." 

"Mr.  Stockley,"  exclaimed  Lois,  you  are  inspiring 
me  with  a  desire  to  study  geometry  and  I  mean — why ! 
who  is  that  dodging  around  the  corner  of  the  school- 
house?" 

They  had  reached  a  point  from  which  they  could 
see  the  front  of  the  school  building,  upon  which  the 
moon  shone  bright.  As  Miss  Dix  spoke,  the  figure 
of  a  boy  slunk  furtively  around  the  corner  of  the 
schoolhouse  and  into  the  shadows  out  of  sight. 

"Wait  right  here,"  said  Stockley;  "I'll  be  back  in 
less  than  a  minute." 

He  rapidly  crossed  the  street  in  the  direction  taken 
by  the  retreating  figure. 

Within  the  time  he  had  mentioned,  he  was  again 
by  Miss  Dix's  side  and  their  walk  was  resumed. 

"I  found  nothing  wrong  with  the  building,"  he 
said,  "it  was  probably  some  chance  prowler  peering 
into  the  windows  out  of  sheer  curiosity ;  and  yet,"  he 
added  thoughtfully,  "I  can't  help  associating  what  we 
have  just  seen  with  what  I  saw  or  fancied  I  saw  when 
I  passed  the  building  less  than  an  hour  ago.  It  was 
a  man  or  a  boy  or  the  shadow  of  a  cloud,  and  that  is 
why  I  asked  you  to  return  with  me  by  this  circuitous 
route.  If  it  had  been  a  person  intending  any  harm  to 
the  building,  the  harm  would  have  been  done  by  this 
time." 

The  conversation  turned  to  indifferent  subjects  and 
the  young  people  were  soon  at  Mrs.  Dix's  gate. 

"And  now,"  said  Lois,  "I  suppose  you  will  resume 
the  study  of  Pythagoras." 


EUCLID  BY   MOONLIGHT  165 

"Or,  rather,  of  Euclid,"  was  the  reply.  Euclid 
united  in  a  single  book  the  geometrical  discoveries  of 
Pythagoras  and  others.  It  was  the  famous  'forty- 
seventh  problem  of  Euclid'  with  which  I  was  strug- 
gling when  you  so  pleasantly  surprised  me.  Let  me 
assure  you  that,  thanks  to  your  company  and  sympa- 
thy, I  have  found  Euclid  by  moonlight  more  than  usu- 
ally fascinating  this  evening.  But  I  particularly  con- 
gratulate myself  on  the  opportunity  you  have  afforded 
me  of  giving,  in  a  very  brief  and  imperfect  way,  some 
thoughts  on  self -culture  which  may  possibly  be  worth 
thinking  about.  I  know  you  will  not  misunderstand 
me.  I  do  not  assume  that  you  are  uncultured,  neither 
do  I  presume  to  constitute  myself  .your  mentor.  I 
mean  just  this  and  nothing  more:  that  two  congenial 
persons  of  intelligence  who  are  ambitious  of  self-im- 
provement can  benefit  each  other  immeasurably  by  ex- 
changing views.  I  mustn't  keep  you  out  any  longer — • 
good  night." 

"Why,  Lois,"  called  Mrs.  Dix  from  her  room  as 
her  daughter  quietly  entered  the  house,  "what  kept  you 
out  so  late?" 

Lois  was  annoyed  at  a  feeling  of  warmth  which 
suffused  her  face  in  the  darkness  as  she  answered,  "I 
met  Mr.  Stockley  and  we  walked  home  past  the  school- 
house." 

Her  mother  did  not  pursue  her  inquiry. 

When  Stockley  reached  his  room,  he  lighted  a  lamp 
and  seated  himself  to  review  the  Pythagorean  propo- 
sition before  retiring.  Taking  from  his  vest  pocket 
the  scrap  on  which  he  had  drawn  the  figures,  he  set 
himself  about  its  study.  A  puzzled  expression  came 


l66  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

into  his  face.  He  bent  forward  and  scanned  the  pa- 
per a  full  minute.  Then  he  leaned  back  and  thought. 
Half  an  hour  later  the  troubled  look  gave  place  to  a 
smile.  He  had  apparently  reached  a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  FUGITIVE 

Back  to  thy  punishment, 
False  fugitive,  and  to  thy  speed  add  wings. 

Milton 

Mrs.  Dow's  scheme  for  subjecting  Stockley  to  her 
control  and  that  of  her  husband  had  completely  failed. 
She  had  tried  to  patronize  him  at  home  and  in  society 
and  while  he  had  not  administered  any  marked  re- 
buff, she  recognized  in  his  dignified  but  courteous 
manner  a  self-determining  spirit  which  would  not 
yield  to  her  social  leadership.  She  had  tacitly  assigned 
to  him  a  position  in  her  train  at  choir  rehearsals, 
church  sociables,  and  other  gatherings,  but  he  had 
declined  the  honor  with  a  bonhomie  in  which  there 
was  just  a  trace  of  hauteur.  One  of  the  prominent 
traits  in  Mrs.  Dow's  character  was  persistence. 
When  she  set  about  the  accomplishment  of  a  given 
purpose,  her  tenacity  did  not  weaken  under  discour- 
agements. Many  ordinary  women  possess  this  trait. 
But  Mrs.  Dow  was  not  an  ordinary  woman.  Had 
she  been  such,  she  would  have  subjected  herself  to 
the  humiliation  of  fighting  a  series  of  losing  battles 
after  losing  the  campaign.  Like  a  skilful  general,  she 
knew  when  she  was  defeated  and  she  wisely  retreated 
in  time  to  save  herself  from  social  annihilation. 

Stung  by  her  defeat,  she  determined  to  humiliate 
the  upstart  whom  she  had  not  succeeded  in  making 
her  vassal.  She  confided  her  plan  to  a  few  of  her 


l68  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

familiars  in  order  that,  when  the  blow  should  fall,  she 
might  be  recognized  as  the  one  who  had  delivered 
it. 

Stockley  had  entertained,  for  some  time,  the  pur- 
pose of  returning  to  the  hotel  as  a  boarder.  He  felt 
that  he  was  in  a  false  position  at  Mr.  Dow's.  Peo- 
ple were  saying  that  Mr.  Dow  was  "running  the 
school"  and  that  the  teacher  would  naturally  regard 
himself  as  under  obligation  to  conduct  it  according  to 
the  ideas  and  caprices  of  the  man  and  woman  whose 
house  sheltered  him.  Stockley  was  not  disposed  to 
truckle  to  popular  fancies  but  he  was  wise  enough 
to  know  that  public  opinion  ought  to  receive  some 
recognition. 

Having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  ought  to 
change  his  boarding  place,  he  sought  Mrs.  Dow  and 
announced  his  determination  to  her  together  with  his 
reasons. 

"You  and  Mr.  Dow  have  made  it  very  pleasant 
for  me  here,"  he  said;  "it  was  very  thoughtful  and 
kind  in  you  to  take  me  into  your  family ;  and  I  can 
not  hope  to  find  elsewhere  the  advantages  I  have  en- 
joyed here,  but  in  view  of  the  circumstances  as  I  have 
explained  them  to  you,  you  will  agree  with  me,  I  am 
sure,  that  it  is  wise  to  change." 

To  say  that  Mrs.  Dow  was  thunderstruck  would 
be  to  express  her  feeling  but  faintly.  She  was  morti- 
fied, chagrined,  furious.  This  was  the  coup  she  had 
reserved  for  the  discomfiture  of  the  enemy,  and  he  had 
stolen  a  march  upon  her,  had  wrested  her  weapon 
from  her  and  had  given  her  with  it  the  coup  de  grace. 

What  should  she  say?     She  had  announced  pri- 


THE  FUGITIVE  169 

vately  that  she  was  going  to  "fire  Stockley"  that  very 
evening.  The  truth  that  he  had  voluntarily  renounced 
his  boarding  place  would  become  known  and  society 
would  understand  that  he  had  outwitted  her.  So  ran 
her  thoughts.  She  could  see  no  escape  from  her 
dilemma,  and  she  wisely  decided  to  accept  the  situation 
gracefully.  By  a  strong  effort  she  so  far  controlled 
her  fury  as  to  keep  it  out  of  her  face  and  voice. 

"Very  well,  Mr.  Stockley,"  she  said,  "perhaps  the 
step  you  propose  is  best.  When  shall  you  leave  us?" 

"To-night." 

That  night  he  slept  at  the  Excelsior  Hotel. 


The  day  following  the  removal  just  recorded  was 
Friday — the  time  chosen  for  the  execution  of  the  plot 
which  had  been  concocted  in  the  cabin  of  the  old 
River  Belle.  Harry  Dole  was  on  the  alert.  He  knew 
that  Arthur  Blazer  met  James  Wakely  for  a  short 
conference  in  a  hazel  thicket  when  the  latter  was  on 
his  way  to  school  in  the  morning.  He  swore  out 
warrants  for  the  arrest  of  the  two  boys  and  placed 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  with  the  understand- 
ing that  the  matter  was  to  be  kept  secret  and  that 
the  papers  were  to  be  served  only  in  case  of  necessity. 
He  knew  that  James  sped  to  Arthur's  home  for  a  five- 
minutes  interview  at  the  noon  hour  and  that  he 
emerged  from  the  house  with  white  lips  and  an  anx- 
ious face.  But  he  did  not  know  James's  errand  at 
Arthur's  house.  Had  he  known  that,  he  would  have 
deemed  it  his  duty  to  forestall  the  coming  catastrophe 
by  an  immediate  arrest  of  the  two  conspirators. 


I7O  THE   GREEN   VALLEY  SCHOOL 

Just  before  the  close  of  the  forenoon  session,  the 
principal  had  made  a  special  announcement  to  the 
school. 

"You  will  remember,  scholars,"  he  said,  "the  an- 
nouncement I  made  about  two  weeks  ago,  that  when 
three  days  should  pass  without  a  single  case  of  tardi- 
ness, I  would  close  school  half  an  hour  earlier  on  the 
next  afternoon.  There  was  not  a  case  of  tardiness 
on  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  or  Thursday;  and  so,  ac- 
cording to  promise,  you  will  be  dismissed  at  half  past 
three  this  afternoon." 

The  pupils  exchanged  smiling  glances  and  went 
home  in  a  merry  mood  for  their  noonday  meal.  James 
promptly  sought  Arthur  to  consult  with  him  on  the 
change  of  time,  which  he  hoped  might  indefinitely 
defer  the  explosion,  which  was  to  have  taken  place 
at  four  o'clock. 

"Art,"  he  said,  after  he  had  hurriedly  explained  the 
change  of  time,  "hadn't  we  better  give  the  whole  thing 
up? — or  put  it  off  a  while?"  he  added,  seeing  an  ugly 
scowl  on  Arthur's  face. 

"Ye  cowardly  skunk,"  growled  Arthur,  "I  jest 
want  you  to  remember  that  I've  got  a  paper  with 
your  name  on  it  that  says  that  you'll  blow  the  ol' 
cuss  up.  D'you  want  a  constable  t'see  that  paper?" 

"Of  course  not,  Art,  I'm  ready  to  do  my  part" — 
his  voice  shook  as  he  spoke — "but  I  thought  as  the 
time  was  changed  and  our  plans  were  kind  of  up- 
set  " 

"No  they  ain't  upset  neither.  Ye  blame  fool,  what 
dif'rnce  does  it  make  whether  the  thing's  touched  off 
at  four  or  half  past  three?  I'll  be  at  Baldritt's  barn 


THE  FUGITIVE  I/I 

at  quarter  past  three  and  young  man  you  jest  light 
that  fuse  on  schedule  time  by  the  new  time  table." 

James  was  unable  to  eat  a  mouthful  of  food  at 
dinner,  and  said,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  from  his 
mother,  that  he  had  "a  kind  of  a  stomach  ache." 

At  three  o'clock  that  afternoon,  Arthur  Blazer 
was  in  the  loft  of  the  Baldritt  barn.  Half  an  hour 
later,  he  saw  the  children  pouring  out  of  the  school- 
house  door,  the  younger  ones  shouting  and  leaping 
with  glee  at  their  early  release.  In  two  minutes, 
every  pupil,  excepting  James,  had  left  the  building 
and  was  out  of  sight.  Where  was  James !  He  should 
have  been,  by  this  time,  in  Baldritt's  barn,  on  the  hay 
beside  his  pal,  waiting  to  see  the  fun  when  the  light 
on  the  burning  fuse  should  have  reached  the  powder. 
A  startling  thought  seized  upon  Arthur  and  forced 
the  cold  sweat  from  every  pore.  "Has  the  cowardly 
pup  given  me  away  to  save  him ....";  his  anger  was 
turned  to  horror  when  a  blood-curdling  shriek  rent 
the  air  and  a  cloud  of  thick  smoke  came  pouring  from 
the  schoolhouse  door.  Without  waiting  to  see  whether 
the  two  victims  were  able  to  crawl  from  the  build- 
ing, he  sprang  to  his  feet,  leaped  down  the  stairs,  and 
shot  out  of  the  barn  door  on  the  side  farthest  from 
the  schoolhouse. 

His  eyes  rapidly  scanned  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. No  one  was  in  sight.  The  boy  skulked  along 
behind  some  bushes,  reached  the  street,  and  fled  from 
the  vicinity,  hardly  knowing  where  he  went. 

About  quarter  before  four  that  Friday  afternoon, 
sheriff  McKelvy  while  strolling  along  the  main  busi- 
ness street  of  Green  Valley,  saw,  a  block  or  two  ahead 


172  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

of  him,  a  man  or  a  large  boy  walking  rapidly  toward 
the  open  country.  As  near  as  the  sheriff  could  make 
out,  the  man  ahead  of  him  had  red  hair  and  shabby 
clothes.  He  cast  furtive  glances  behind  him  as  he 
moved  swiftly  along  the  road  and  seemed  trying  to 
escape  observation.  Reaching  a  cross  road,  he  quickly 
turned  the  corner  and  disappeared  behind  a  barn.  At 
this  moment  a  heavy  hand  was  laid  on  the  sheriff's 
shoulder  and  he  turned  to  look  into  the  agitated  face 
of  Harry  Dole. 

"McKelvy,,"  whispered  Harry  in  great  excite- 
ment, "did  ye  see  that  fel'r  skip  'round  the  corner  by 
Kennedy's  barn?  That's  Art  and  he's  leggin'  it  to 
get  out  o'  town.  Somethin's  happened  and  I'm  goin' 
right  up  to  the  schoolhouse  to  see  what's  the  matter. 
You  better  git  right  after  that  boy  and  slap  the  war- 
rant onto  'im  before  he  gits  away." 

Without  waiting  for  a  reply,  Harry  turned  ani 
started  at  a  swift  pace  for  the  schoolhouse.  Hf 
feared  that  by  some  accident  the  mine  had  been  ex- 
ploded prematurely  and  that  he  might  be  too  late 
to  save  the  unsuspecting  schoolmaster.  He  had  acci- 
dentally caught  sight  of  the  fugitive  as  he  was  about 
to  start  for  the  schoolhouse  and  his  timely  meeting 
with  the  sheriff  left  him  free  to  hurry  to  the  scene 
of  the  expected  explosion,  assured  that  the  principal 
in  the  conspiracy  would  be  taken  care  of  by  the  prop- 
er officer  of  the  law. 

McKelvy  hastened  to  the  corner  around  which 
the  fugitive  had  disappeared,  just  in  time  to  see  his 
quarry  running  at  utmost  speed  across  the  prairie. 
The  next  minute,  the  sheriff  strode  into  Bert  Bender's 


THE  FUGITIVE  1/3 

livery  stable.  "Bert,"  he  said,  quietly,  "throw  a  sad- 
dle on  old  Dan  quicker'n  lightning!"  Eighty  seconds 
later,  old  Dan  was  trotting  out  of  the  stable  with  the 
sheriff  on  his  back. 

The  fleeing  man  was  still  in  sight.  At  a  word  and 
a  shake  of  the  bridle  reins,  Dan  sped  after  him  across 
the  open  prairie.  The  hunted  one  glanced  back  and 
increased  his  speed.  The  sheriff  was  surprised  to  see 
him  change  his  course.  He  had  been  heading,  at 
first,  for  the  wooded  swamp  that  bordered  Run  river, 
not  far  from  the  village.  He  appeared  to  change  his 
mind  on  finding  that  he  was  pursued,  for,  on  reach- 
ing the  road  that  ran  parallel  to  the  river  he  turned 
sharply  and  sped  along  the  road.  Major  Murfin's 
house  was  not  far  away.  Reaching  it  he  ran  through 
the  wide  gateway  and  disappeared  in  the  barn. 

The  sheriff  was  checked.  His  mount  could  not 
clear  the  fence  and  he  did  not  know  which  way  to 
go  to  find  the  bars.  He  was  compelled  to  alight,  tie 
his  horse,  and  demolish  a  length  of  fence.  When  he 
rode  through  the  gap  he  saw  the  red  headed  fugitive 
flying  along  the  road  ahead,  mounted  on  Major  Mur- 
fin's best  horse.  "It's  nip  and  tuck  now,"  was  Mc- 
Kelvy's  mental  comment:  "Old  Dan's  a  good  trav- 
eler, but  if  he  overtakes  the  major's  Terror,  it'll  have 
to  be  by  some  strategy  that  I  can't  quite  figure  out  this 
minute.  Perhaps  the  vicious  brute'll  throw  the  boy." 

The  runaway  was  evidently  a  good  rider.  Terror 
had  started  out  at  a  rapid  gait  and  in  response  to  the 
words  and  strokes  of  his  rider  he  steadily  increased 
his  distance  from  the  pursuing  officer. 

Ten  minutes  passed.    Both  horses  were  going  like 


1/4  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

mad  and  the  officer  of  the  law  was  being  gradually 
left  behind.  Suddenly  his  face  brightened  and  he 
gave  a  suppressed  cry  of  exultation. 

Half  a  mile  ahead  of  the  flying  boy  the  road  made 
a  sharp  turn  to  the  right  and  bent  again  to  the  left  at 
the  end  of  another  half  mile. 

The  two  horsemen  were  separated  by  a  distance 
of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  sheriff  conceived 
the  idea  of  riding  across  the  country  on  the  hypotenuse 
of  the  right  triangle  of  which  the  half-mile  sections 
the  fugitive  must  cover  were  the  legs.  He  had  never 
heard  of  the  forty-seventh  problem  of  Euclid  but  he 
made  a  rough  calculation  that  if  he  could  clear  a  low 
place  in  the  fence  and  put  his  horse  to  his  best  speed, 
he  could  intercept  his  man  at  the  second  turning,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  latter  was  mounted  on 
the  swifter  horse.  To  accomplish  this  result  he  must 
have  a  clear  track  across  the  fields  and  his  horse  must 
make  his  maximum  speed.  He  figured  that  two  fac- 
tors in  the  problem  were  in  his  favor:  first,  that 
Arthur  did  not  know  the  country  and  would  not  dare 
to  leave  the  traveled  road  for  fear  of  finding  an  im- 
passable place ;  second,  that  Arthur  would  inevitably 
lose  time  in  slowing  up  to  make  the  turns.  He  cal- 
culated that  if  a  certain  swampy  tract  lying  across  his 
path  and  known  as  the  "big  slough"  was  dry,  he 
could  reach  the  second  turning  about  thirty  seconds 
in  advance  of  the  boy.  This  would  give  him  time  to 
throw  himself  from  the  back  of  Old  Dan,  tear  down  a 
corner  of  rail  fence,  and  confront  the  fugitive  with  a 
fence  rail. 

This  train  of  thought  which  has  consumed  seventy- 


THE  FUGITIVE  175 

five  seconds  in  the  reading,  passed  through  the  mind 
of-  the  sheriff  in  one-fifteenth  of  that  time.  Before 
the  completion  of  the  fifth  second,  Dan  had  leaped 
a  low  place  in  the  fence  and  was  bearing  his  rider 
at  breakneck  speed  across  the  country. 

The  fugitive  lost  time  at  the  turning  as  the  sheriff 
had  supposed  he  would.  He  cast  a  rapid  glance,  as 
he  turned,  along  the  road  he  had  just  covered.  No 
horseman  was  to  be  seen !  It  took  him  but  an  instant 
to  guess  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  tactics  of  his  pur- 
suer, although  the  latter  was  hidden  by  intervening 
bushes  and  trees.  The  thought  was  a  spur.  He 
lashed  his  horse  with  the  halter  end.  Every  second 
he  left"  two  rods  behind.  It  was  the  best  that  Terror 
could  do. 

In  the  meantime  Old  Dan  was  carrying  his  rider 
straight  toward  the  point  where  the  latter  had  planned 
to  bring  his  man  to  bay.  He  wa_s  confident  he  could 
accomplish  his  purpose,  provided  the  "big  slough" 
was  passable.  A  slight  rise  of  ground  gave  him  full 
view  of  the  slough.  It  was  full  of  water !  He  did  not 
slacken  his  horse's  speed,  for,  although  he  hardly 
expected,  now,  to  catch  Arthur  at  the  bend  in  the 
road,  he  hoped  something  might  happen  to  terminate 
the  chase  at  a  small  railway  station  not  far  distant. 

He  rode  around  the  slough  and  reached  the  roatf 
in  time  to  see  the  man  he  had  failed  to  intercept 
in  full  career  toward  the  station.  A  freight 
train  stood  on  the  main  track.  The  fugitive  guided 
his  horse  into  a  fence  corner  near  the  engine,  threw 
himself  off,  ran  to  the  rear  of  the  tender  and  uncoupled 


1/  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

it  from  the  car  behind,  rushed  forward,  and  sprang 
up  the  steps  of  the  cab  of  the  locomotive. 

All  this  Sheriff  McKelvy  saw  while  flying  toward 
the  little  station  on  the  back  of  Old  Dan.  He  could 
not  see  what  happened  in  the  cab,  but  to  his  utter 
chagrin  he  saw  the  engine  start,  gather  speed,  and 
glide  away  from  the  station,  bearing  with  it  the  per- 
son he  had  set  out  to  capture.  When  he  leaped  upon 
the  station  platform  he  found  the  agent  gazing  in 
wonder  at  the  runaway  engine,  which  was  fast  grow- 
ing smaller  in  the  distance. 

A  message  was  soon  going  over  the  wire,  direct- 
ing the  arrest  of  Blazer,  whose  description  was  given, 
at  Jasper,  a  station  about  ten  miles  distant  from  Green 
Valley.  The  sheriff  followed  the  wild  engine  on  a 
hand  car,  having  supplied  himself  with  a  revolver. 

While  the  pursuit  and  escape  above  described  was 
taking  place,  a  remarkable  scene  was  being  enacted 
at  the  white  schoolhouse  in  Green  Valley. 


CHAI  PER  XVII 
THE  OUTCOME 

Si  finis  bonus  est,  totum  bonum  erit 

— Gesta  Romanorum 

James  Wakely  rose  with  the  other  pupils  when  the 
signal  for  dismissal  was  given  Friday  afternoon.  His 
anxiety  was  somewhat  relieved  when  he  saw  the  teach- 
er turn  to  write  some  words  on  the  blackboard  be- 
hind his  desk.  In  a  few  seconds,  all  the  scholars  near 
James's  desk  had  moved  forward  and  the  entire  school 
was  intent  on  reaching  the  door.  Quickly  stooping,  he 
ignited  a  match,  lighted  the  fuse,  replaced  the  board, 
and  then  took  his  place  in  the  marching  column.  He 
was  the  last  one  in  the  line.  The  thought  of  passing 
the  master's  desk  on  his  way  out  struck  faintness  to 
his  heart.  What  if  Mr.  Stockley  should  do  what  he 
had  never  done  before — ask  him  to  remain !  The  idea 
sent  a  cold  shiver  along  his  spine. 

Horror!    The  master  was  speaking  to  him. 

"James,  can  you  remain  a  little  while?  There's 
something  I  want  to  talk  with  you  about." 

James's  impulse  was  to  plead  a  special  engagement 
and  ask  if  some  other  time  would  not  answer  the  pur- 
pose. But  this  would  necessitate  explanations.  In  his 
state  of  nervous  terror,  his  voice  would  be  sure  to 
tremble.  Mr.  Stockley's  wonder  and— the  trembling 
boy  feared — suspicion  would  be  aroused.  It  would  be 
five  minutes  before  the  fire  in  the  fuse  would  reach  the 
powder.  Perhaps  the  master  would  detain  him  but 


178  THE  GREEN   VALLEY  SCHOOL 

a  minute.     His  heart  was  beating  like  a  trip  hammer. 
There  was  danger  in  staying  but  he  dared  not  go. 

In  sheer  desperation  he  turned  aside  and  weakly 
sunk  into  a  chair  by  the  side  of  Stockley  who  had 
already  seated  himself  at  the  desk. 

"I  have  been  thinking,"  began  the  schoolmaster, 
"about  the  organization  of  a  literary  society  in  the 
school.  Several  of  the  boys  and  girls  have  already 
spoken — why,  what's  the  matter!" 

James's  eyes  were  staring  at  the  clock  on  the  op- 
posite wall.  He  had  not  heard  a  word  of  what  Stockley 
had  said.  Nearly  half  the  time  had  elapsed  and  that 
terrible  fuse  was  getting  near  the  powder !  There  was 
an  awful  possibility  that  Arthur  had  overestimated  the 
time ! 

"I — I  think  I'll  have  to  go,"  he  faltered  with  catch- 
ing breath. 

"Are  you  feeling  ill?"  Stockley  asked,  gently  lay- 
ing a  hand  on  the  boy's  arm. 

James  tried  to  reply  but  could  not  utter  a  word; 
he  attempted  to  rise  but  his  limbs  refused  to  support 
him.  His  lips  were  white;  his  breath  came  and  went 
in  gasps ;  his  face  was  a  picture  of  terror. 

A  hissing  below  the  floor!  a  smell  of  powder!  a 
volume  of  smoke!  With  a  terrific  shriek,  the  boy 
sprang  out  of  his  chair  and  fell  to  the  floor  in  a  faint. 

Stockley  dashed  some  water  in  his  face  and  he  soon 
revived. 

"Sit  here  until  you  feel  better,"  said  Stockley,  help- 
ing him  to  a  chair. 

There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  which  was  stand- 
ing open  and  in  the  opening  appeared  the  portly  fig- 


THE    OUTCOME  1/9 

ure  of  Dr.  Wakely,  who  sniffed  the  air  inquiringly. 

"Come  in,  Doctor,"  said  Stockley,  as  he  closed  the 
door;  "you  seem  surprised  at  the  odor." 

"Why,  yes,  I  am  surprised,  but  only  at  the  partic- 
ular kind  of  odor.  I  saw  smoke  coming  out  of  the 
front  door  when  I  was  a  block  away  and  I  hurried, 
because  I  was  afraid  the  schoolhouse  was  on  fire.  But 
seems  to  me  this  is  powder  smoke  and  not  pine 
smoke." 

"Yes,  it  is  powder  smoke.  You  don't  understand 
it,  of  course.  James  and  I  do.  It  was  to  talk  over  a 
matter  connected  with  the  powder  that  I  asked  you 
to  come  up  this  afternoon." 

At  this  point  the  front  door  was  violently  thrown 
open  and  Harry  Dole  burst  into  the  room,  followed 
by  Mr.  Blazer  and — Arthur! 

Harry  was  much  excited. 

"I  seen  the  smoke  and  smelt  the  powder  before  I 
got  here,"  he  panted,  "  'n  I's  afeerd  y'd  been  blowed 
to  kingdom  come." 

He  seemed  embarrassed  by  the  presence  of  the  two 
men  with  their  sons  and  acted  as  if  he  had  something 
important  to  say  to  the  schoolmaster.  He  was  mani- 
festly puzzled  at  seeing  Arthur  there. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Stockley,  "if  you  will  take  seats, 
I  will  explain  why  I  have  asked  you  to  meet  me  here 
this  afternoon.  As  what  I  have  to  say  touches  on  pri- 
vate matters  that  will  be  of  special  interest  to  Mr. 
Blazer  and  Dr.  Wakely,  I'm  sure  Mr.  Dole  will  excuse 
me  if  I  make  a  private  communication  to  them." 

Harry's  mind  was  relieved  by  finding  Stockley 
safe.  He  took  his  dismissal  in  good  part  and  withdrew 


l8o  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL 

from  the  room.  As  he  walked  away,  he  suddenly 
stopped,  slapped  his  leg  and  exclaimed,  "Wai,  that 
beats  me !  Arthur  was  in  there  with  'is  dad ;  who'n 
thunder  's  that  fel'r  that  was  runnin'  away  from  Sher- 
iff McKelvy !" 

After  closing  the  door,  Stockley  took  a  chair  near 
his  visitors. 

"I  have  a  story  to  tell,"  he  said,  "and  a  proposition 
to  make.  If  you  will  patiently  hear  me  through,  I  will 
be  glad  to  receive  suggestions  from  you  and  to  co- 
operate with  you  in  helping  these  boys  to  make  the 
most  of  an  opportunity. 

"One  evening,  not  long  ago,  when  I  was  walking 
over  the  prairie  near  the  village,  I  picked  up  a  scrap 
of  paper  to  use  in  working  out  a  proposition  in  geom- 
etry. After  reaching  my  room  I  wished  to  look  at  the 
drawing  I  had  made  and  took  the  paper  from  my  vest 
pocket  for  that  purpose.  Instead  of  my  geometrical 
drawing,  I  found  a  writing  over  the  names  of  these 
two  boys.  My  geometry  work  had  been  done  by 
moonlight  on  the  reverse  side.  As  the  writing  on  this 
paper  concerns  me,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  asking 
you  gentlemen  to  meet  the  boys  here  when  I  restore 
their  property  to  them.  Now  there  are  three  names  on 
this  paper." — Stockley  here  read  from  the  scrap — 
'  'Stockley  the  schoolmaster,'  'James  Wakely/  and 
'Arthur  Blazer.'  Shall  Mr.  Blazer  and  Dr.  Wakefield 
hear  the  paper  read  ?  As  my  name  is  mentioned  first, 
I  will  say  that  I  have  no  objection.  What  do  you  say, 
James  ?" 

James  felt  like  a  fox  surrounded  by  a  pack  of  yelp- 


THE    OUTCOME  l8l 

ing  hounds  with  hunters  eager  to  take  his  brush.  He 
had  not  even  a  hole  to  hide  his  head  in. 

"It  isn't  quite  fair "  he  faltered. 

"O,  cut  it  short,"  exclaimed  Arthur,  "the  jig's  up 
'n  he  may  read  what's  on  the  paper  ef  he  wants  to." 

"Let  us  hear  it,"  said  Dr.  Wakely.  Mr.  Blazer 
made  a  confirmatory  nod. 

Stockley  read  the  paper  aloud  and  passed  it  to  the 
two  men  for  inspection.  This  is  what  they  saw. 


Mr.  Blazer  was  silent. 

"Now,  Jim,"  began  Dr.  Wakely. 

"If  you  will  pardon  my  discourtesy  in  interrupting 
you,"  put  in  Stockley,  "I  would  like  to  propose  a  plan 
for  adjusting  this  matter  right  here  and  now.  My 
plan  is  a  very  simple  one — one,  I  trust,  that  will  com- 
mend itself  to  the  good  judgment  of  you  gentlemen  and 
that  will,  I  hope,  be  satisfactory  to  both  of  you  boys. 

"Let  me  say  at  the  outset  that  I  do  not  underesti- 


l82  THE  GREEN   VALLEY   SCHOOL      . 

mate  the  gravity  of  the  offense  the  boys  have  com- 
mitted; I  do  not  forget  that  the  law  provides  due 
punishment  for  it,  but  my  plan  provides  for  realizing 
the  benefit  of  civil  punishment  without  the  unpleasant 
consequences  that  would  ensue  if  the  affair  were  takefi 
into  court. 

"In  the  first  place,  the  boys  have  been  punished  to 
a  considerable  extent  already  and  it  will  be  many  daj^s 
before  they  quite  rid  their  minds  of  the  load  they  are 
now  carrying. 

"Then,  both  boys  are  young,  as  they  have  a  per- 
fect right  to  be;  that  is  no  reproach  to  them,  but  we 
older  ones  have  an  advantage  over  them.  They  did 
not  realize,  as  we  would,  the  consequences  of  this  act 
to  me  or  to  their  families,  or  to  themselves.  I  firmly 
believe  they  will  never  fall  into  such  an  error  again. 

"Now,  Arthur,  you  have  made  a  terrible  mistake. 
Of  course  you  realize  that  now — we  all  make  mistakes. 
I  find  that  when  I  have  made  one  the  best  way  is  to 
put  it  right  behind  me  and  say:  'There,  that  was  a 
mistake ;  I  can't  undo  it  and  I've  got  to  suffer  for  it  in 
some  way,  but  I'll  "take  my  medicine"  and  then  try 
never  to.  commit  a  similar  error  again.'  That  seems 
to  me  better  than  trying  to  undo  one  mistake  by  mak- 
ing another.  I  don't  know  everything  you  and  James 
have  done  and  I  don't  care  to.  I  believe  that  you  are, 
at  heart,  a  straight  fellow  and  I'll  make  you  a  square 
offer  as  between  man  and  man.  Come  back  to  school 
— come  Monday  morning.  I  want  you  back.  I'll  help 
you  all  I  can  and  you  shall  never  be  reminded  of  the 
past  by  any  act,  word,  or  look  of  mine.  I  don't  ask 
you  to  promise  anything  for  the  future  for  I  am  cer- 


THE    OUTCOME  183 

tain  you  will  take  care  of  that.     What  do  you  say? 
Is  it  a  bargain?" 

Arthur  had  listened  eagerly  and  as  Stockley's  plan 
unfolded,  his  face  had  slowly  been  transformed  from 
its  (of  late)  habitual  malevolence  into  successive  ex- 
pressions of  surprise,  pleasure,  wonder,  admiration, 
and  hearty  acquiescence.  He  grasped  the  hand  the 
schoolmaster  had  held  out  to  him  and  said  vehemently : 

"By  thunder,  I  will!" 

"I  believed  you  would  do  it,"  said  Stockley,  shak- 
ing Arthur's  hand  heartily,  "and  I  will  dismiss  the 
matter  from  my  mind  altogether.  What  about  you 
James;  shall  we  make  a  new  start  in  mutual  confi- 
dence ?  You  see  the  stand  Arthur  has  taken ;  you  can 
work  together  along  the  new  line  as  you  have  along 
the  old  and  Arthur,  I  think,  will  be  a  great  help  to 
you.  Do  you  want  to  continue  in  school  on  the  same 
terms  Arthur  has  accepted?" 

"Why,  yes,  I  guess  so,"  said  James.  It  was  the 
best  response  that  could  be  expected  from  a  boy  of  his 
disposition  and  the  master  was  wise  enough  not  to  in- 
sist on  a  less  equivocal  assent. 

The  two  men  had  little  to  say.  Both  were  relieved 
by  Stockley's  disposition  to  keep  the  affair  quiet  and 
forego  criminal  prosecution.  After  some  commonplace 
expressions  of  thankfulness,  for  his  forbearance,  they 
withdrew,  accompanied  by  their  sons. 

Arthur  wondered  how  the  incriminating  paper 
happened  to  be  blown  out  of  the  hole  in  the  oak  tree, 
into  which  he  had 'thrust  it  and  across  the  prairie  to 
Stockley's  feet.  He  even  made  a  special  visit  to  the 
tree  hardly  expecting  to  solve  the  mystery.  A  squir- 


184  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

rel's  nest  in  the  opening  explained  the  matter  to  his 
satisfaction.  He  concluded  that  the  squirrels  had 
pawed  the  paper  out  by  accident  or  design,  and  that 
the  wind  had  done  the  rest. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Arthur  had  come  out 
of  the  affair  without  punishment — scot-free.  The 
period  during  which  he  was  concocting  and  executing 
the  plot  against  the  schoolmaster  was  the  most  un- 
happy time  of  his  life.  He  was  tortured  with  remorse 
(which  he  refused  to  acknowledge  even  to  himself) 
for  he  knew  that  he  was  wholly  wrong  and  that  Stock- 
ley  was  wholly  right.  It  was  an  added  sting  to  the 
bite  of  conscience  that  he  had  a  sincere  admiration 
for  the  man  against  whom  he  was  conspiring.  If  he 
had  been  familiar  with  Byron,  he  might  have  ex- 
claimed with  the  poet 

The  worm,  the  canker,  and  the  grief 
Are  mine  alone. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  a  characteristic  pride  in 
never  giving  up  he  would  have  abandoned  the  nefari- 
ous plot  in  its  infancy.  His  suffering  had  been  as 
great  as  that  of  James,  but  his  greater  self  control 
had  enabled  him  to  conceal  it. 

The  reader  will  have  divined  that  after  Stockley 
had  read  the  tell-tale  agreement  at  the  conclusion  of 
his  evening  study  of  Euclid  by  moonlight,  he  had 
repaired  to  the  schoolhouse  and  had  made  the  mine 
harmless  by  the  removal  of  most  of  the  material  of 
which  it  was  made — leaving  enough  powder  to  give 
the  vice  conspirator  a  wholesome  shock. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  one  day  when  Arthur 
was  eating  his  luncheon  in  the  stone  quarry,  as  re- 


THE    OUTCOME  185 

lated  in  Chapter  V,  he  read  a  description  of  a  criminal 
who  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  himself  and  was  in 
hiding  near  Green  Valley.  Both  Harry  Dole  and 
Sheriff  McKelvy  had  been  deceived  by  the  likeness 
of  the  fugitive  to  Arthur  when  Harry  had  started  the 
officer  of  the  law  off  on  his  trail.  The  murderer  was 
duly  captured  and  brought  to  trial. 

As  for  Arthur's  presence  at  the  schoolhouse,  he 
had  run  into  his  father's  arms  before  he  had  gone  a 
block  from  Baldritt's  barn.  Mr.  Blazer  took  Arthur 
with  him  to  the  schoolhouse,  having  been  requested  to 
meet  Mr.  Stockley  there  and  to  bring  Arthur  with  him 
if  possible. 

Explanations  followed  between  Stockley  and  Har- 
ry Dole  as  well  as  between  Harry  and  the  sheriff.  At 
the  request  of  the  teacher,  these  two  and  the  justice 
who  had  issued  the  warrant  refrained  from  giving 
publicity  to  the  affair.  When  questioned  by  the  curi- 
ous, they  were  close-mouthed. 

Stockley  was  employed  to  teach  the  Green  Valley 
School  the  following  year.  Mrs.  Dow  undertook  to 
secure  the  election  of  a  hostile  trustee,  but  he  was 
"snowed  under,"  largely  through  the  electioneering 
of  Mary  Milligan,  Eva  Black,  Allie  Harley,  Urline 
Simpton,  Harry  Dole,  John  McMillan,  and  Arthur 
Blazer !  Arthur  never  became  a  brilliant  scholar,  but 
he  was  a  stanch  friend  of  the  schoolmaster,  under 
whose  influence  be  developed  into  a  well-behaved,  self- 
respecting  young  man. 

James  Wakely — well,  he  never  gave  the  master 
serious  trouble  after  the  day  of  the  explosion. 

The  good  understanding  between  the  principal  and 


186  THE  GREEN  VALLEY  SCHOOL 

his  assistant  progressed  satisfactorily  and  was  mu- 
tually helpful.  To  say  more  would  not  be  pertinent 
to  our  tale.  The  purpose  of  this  chronicle  was  simply 
to  tell  the  story  of  one  term  in  the  Green  Valley 
School. 


THE  END. 


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